Doll's Eyes
by coexist love
Summary: One night Ziva is at a bar. She tries to call Tony for a ride home and when he doesn't answer she gets into trouble.
1. Prologue

Prologue:  
Ziva's vision swam. It was clear to her by now that she'd had one too many shooters. She pulled out her phone again and tried to call her number one contact, Tony. There was going to be hell to pay if this call went straight to voicemail. She needed a ride home, if she took a cab how was she going to get to work tomorrow? There was always the bus or a cab but they weren't reliable and she might be late. Ziva hated being late.

She watching as her phone started ringing and then connected with Tony's voicemail. Taking a deep breath she started speaking, "Tony, it's Ziva," Ziva began, her words slurred. "I need help. Need a ride home. Please call me back when you get this."

Ziva waited for him to call back. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, then twenty. She wondered where Tony was. He was her partner and her partner said he would be here. She looked at the clock. It was going on midnight. Only four hours of sleep tonight. Maybe she should be heading home. She tried to stand up and felt the room sway around her.

"Woah," the bartender said. "Take it easy."

"Neeed to go home," Ziva muttered.

"Let me call you a cab."

"No, no time. Neeeeed too get sleeeeep."

"Ma'am you've had too much to…"

"Ma'am!" Ziva exclaimed as she headed for the door. The bartender stepped out from behind the bar and placed her hand on her shoulder. Ziva's immediate reaction was to fight back. She grabbed the bartenders hand and twisted it, shocking the tiny man that had been serving her tequila before walking out of the bar.

Finding her car she reached for her keys and walked over to the driver's side. She inserted the key into the ignition and pulled out into the traffic flow. She drove through the city, her bad driven worsened by the affect of alcohol on her brain. She avoided almost colliding with another car as she got off the beltway and started to head towards her apartment.

As she drove she cursed Tony. She trusted him, had spent two years trusting him and trying to get him to trust her. Why was he shutting her out to be with another woman? Why was he being so secretive towards her? What was he hiding? She still worried that he was sick. That all those tests he'd had done a few months ago were really the result of something serious. What if Tony was dying? How was she going to find out? When he didn't show up at work one day and Gibbs told the team that he'd passed away? How was that right? How could he be doing this to her?

She sped down the road, blowing through a stop sign and then swerving into oncoming traffic. At the sound of a blaring horn she attempted to correct her course, causing her to fly off the road until she connected with a poll, wrapping the car around the poll. Her head flew forward for a minute, connecting with the steering wheel and then back against the headrest of her Mini Cooper. She watched as her vision swam again as she felt her eyelids growing heavy.

"Ma'am?" she heard someone say. "Ma'am can you hear me?" What's your name."

"Ziva David she muttered

"It's okay Ziva, I'm gonna call an ambulance"

"My phone…" Ziva whispered. "Call…DiNozzo." Then her eyelids shut and everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:  
"Where the hell is Ziva?" Tony questioned as he stared at his partner's empty desk. "I swear since she's been here thats woman's beaten Gibbs to work everyday and now suddenly she's late?"

"Maybe she tried another new route for her run?" McGee offered, watching as Tony formulated some scheme to poke at Ziva's patience.

"No, I doubt that," Tony said. "She's two hours late."

"Why don't you call her?" McGee suggested. "She does have a phone you know, and she probably has it on her. Or better yet, check your phone. She was trying to reach you all night when we were at the bar."

"Bar?" Tony asked.

"Yes, remember, the team was getting together at the bar? We told you to come along? We all left around ten but Ziva insisted on waiting on you."

"How was she when you left?" Tony asked, picturing the mean drunken Mossad agent he had pinned Ziva to be. He had no doubt that she could hold her liquor.

"She seemed fine. Ducky was with her when we left."

"How did she get home?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there. She'd had quite a few shooters in the time I was there though."

"Thanks McGeek," Tony said as he got up and rushed to the elevator. As he headed for forensics he pulled out his phone. Five missed calls. He checked the history, noticing that they all came from Ziva's number. Checking the time stamp he saw that the last call was made around eleven. He wondered what Ziva was doing up so late. He knew that she got up at 0400, how could she possibly function on five hours of sleep?

He dialed Ziva's number, hoping for an answer. He heard the phone ring and then connect with Ziva's voicemail. "You have reached Officer David, please leave a message and I will call you back."

"Ziva, where the hell are you? You're two hours late! Please call me when you get this." He disconnected his phone and headed towards the morgue to find Ducky.

"Anthony," Ducky stated. "What are you doing down here? I wasn't aware there were anymore corpses in need of an autopsy?"

"There aren't. I came to ask you about Ziva. You saw her last night?"

"Yes, she was hitting the tequila pretty heavy I'll admit."

"Did you leave her at the bar?"

"Yes."

"Do you happen to know how she got home?" Tony asked, hoping that Ziva had taken the sane route and called a cab.

"She didn't say, she just said she had a few stops to make."

"Thank you, Ducky," Tony said as he left the morgue and turned to head back upstairs.

"May I ask what this is about?" Ducky inquired as Tony disappeared.

* * *

Tony raced back through the bullpen to find Gibbs had arrived with his coffee as usual. He was sitting at his desk going over paperwork when he noticed Tony rush into the bullpen.

"Where's the fire DiNozzo?"

"No fire. At least, not that I know of, but I am worried about Ziva."

"Where is the ninja girl?"

"Well, she's not here."

"What do you mean she's not here? It's 0800?" Gibbs asked, slightly astonished that the early riser had not beaten him to work that day. "Has she called?"

"No, as far as we can tell the last person that had any contact with her was Ducky, and that was last night," McGee offered.

"I called her cell and I got her voicemail."

"This is all strange, particularly for David. Maybe one of you should take a ride to her apart…" Gibbs began only to be interrupted by the phone ringing. "Gibbs!" He stopped and nodded verbally to the person on the other end. "Okay, we'll be right down." He hung up the phone. "Ziva's in the hospital."

"What?" McGee questioned. "Why?"

"She was in an accident last night. They tried to contact DiNozzo, her emergency contact, but no one picked up the phone."

"Oops," Tony stated. Gibbs stood up and slapped him over the head. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Abandoning your partner!"

"Boss, we were off the clock!

"Do I need to slap you again DiNozzo?"

"Sorry boss," Tony stated. "What hospital is she at?"

"St. Margaret's. Notify Abby and Ducky, then pack your trash."


	3. Chapter 2

_Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. This is my first NCIS fic and I am happy to find such an active community here. Anyway...a little gift for you guys...another chapter. Keep reviewing and there are plently more where that came from!_

Chapter 2  
Gibbs beat the rest of the team to St. Margaret's. For a moment Tony and McGee wondered if he had been taking lessons from Ziva, wondering exactly how many red lights he had blown through on his way here. Then they remembered that Ziva was in the hospital because of an accident.

Tony remembered the last time he had driven with Ziva and the orchestra of blaring car horns that usually accompanied her driving, making it impossible to sleep on the way to a crime scene, particularly one that took hours to get to. She was an awful driver by American standards; she drove over the speed limit and took turns at those speeds resulting in several near misses. It could be said for the entire team that nobody would willing climb into a car while she was in the driver's seat.

When they entered the entryway of St. Margaret's Hospital they asked the receptionist for Ziva David, flashing their badges as NCIS agents.

"Ziva Daveed?" the receptionist typed in.

"It's spelled D-A-V-I-D," McGee corrected. "First name Z-I-V-A."

The nurse typed in the name, "It says here she's in intensive care. Room 410."

The team took the elevator to the fourth floor and quickly found room ten. Ziva was in the ICU? That couldn't be good. The over-caffinated Abby started jumping up and down with nervous anxiety. McGee stood there, the gears in his head turning quickly. Tony tried to stay calm. This was Ziva! How bad could it be that she had to be placed in the ICU? She was strong. She was a fighter. What could have happened?

They found Gibbs waiting outside Ziva's room, looking through the window to see an unconscious Ziva lying in the bed with tubes coming out of every inch of her body. She looked so small. She did have a tiny frame but with all the machines around her, she looked so tiny.

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed.

"How is she?" McGee asked.

"I haven't seen her doctor yet, but the nurses told me not to go in yet. They're still getting her settled?"

"When did she get out of surgery?" Tony asked.

"No more than an hour ago."

"An hour ago!" Abby shouted. "When did they start?"

"One in the morning," the doctor stated. "Are you all here for Ms. David?"

"Da-veed!" the team corrected in unison.

"…and yes," Gibbs added. "How is she doing?"

"Are you her supervisor?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Gibbs stated.

"I would prefer to talk to you alone," the doctor insisted, looking at the rest of the team.

"Of course doctor," Gibbs said. "The doctor lead him down the hall so they were out of earshot. "Officer David was brought in after she wrapped her car around a pole. She was pinned into the vehicle and the EMS had to use the Jaws of Life to free her from the wreckage. By the time she brought to the hospital she had already lost a good amount of blood. There was also evidence of internal bleeding so we rushed her to CT and X-ray. We got a head CT and a CAT scan and found moderate to severe head trauma. We did x-rays of her chest, spinal column, and limbs and found that four of her ribs were broken, one punctured her lung and her left wrist was broken. Her legs were also broken, her right tibia and her left femur. We've pinned them back into place during surgery. We also found evidence of spinal trauma. We can't be sure of the extent until she wakes up but there is a chance she might be paralyzed."

Gibbs let out a sigh. Ziva was not going to happy when she woke up. "What's her prognosis?" Gibbs asked.

"At the moment she's in a coma, but the problem goes further than her injuries. We got Officer David off the operating table before she could bleed out, but when we checked for matching blood, we were only able to find one pint."

"What are you saying?" Gibbs asked.

"She has a rare blood type, O positive. It means she's the universal donor but when it comes to needed a transfusion she can only receive blood from someone with type O blood. When I called the blood bank earlier today they only had one unit to match. I was hoping to find a match among one of you."

"What will happen if you can't replace her blood?"

"Well, the only concern is really that her red blood cells carry iron, the lack of them could lead to anemia, which could double or even triple her recovery time."

"Well, I'm not a match, but I can ask the others if they are. Is there anyway to facilitate her recovery in the meantime?"

"We can inject her with iron supplements but I would prefer whole blood first. Since the iron in the red blood cells will help her recover and the lymphocytes will help her immune system fight any infections she may contract while she's here."

"Okay, let me ask my team," Gibbs said as he headed back down the hall to his team.

"Boss! How is she?" Tony asked.

"Bad DiNozzo, but I can tell you about that later. Right now I need to ask a very important question. Are any of you type O?"

"Pardon boss?" McGee asked.

"Ziva needs blood or her recovery is going to take longer than normal. Does anyone have type O blood."

"No, I am sorry," McGee said.

"Sorry, I'm AB positive," Tony said.

"Sorry Jethro, I'm not a match either," Ducky stated.

"I am!" Abby stated. "O negative"

"Good, Ziva's O positive. That shouldn't give her a reaction right?"

"No," the doctor said. "O positive can receive either O positive or O negative blood. If you don't mind, we could use another two pints."

"Not at all," Abby said. "Just point me in the direction of the blood bank."

"I'll get one of the nurses to take you," the doctor said.

"Thank you," Abby said.

"Can we see her?" Tony asked.

The doctor sighed. "She's unconscious and very susceptible to infection. I need to ask you to wear masks and also to go in one at a time."

"Okay…" Tony said.

"You guys go in; I need to speak to the Director."


	4. Chapter 3

_Once again thank you to everyone for your lovely reviews. There should be more on Ziva's condition coming in the next few chapters. _

Chapter 3  
Gibbs drove back to base as quickly as he could. He couldn't believe this happened to Ziva. He couldn't bring himself to go into her room. Not just yet, that would be admitting that this was really happening. As he walked through the bullpen he walked past Ziva's desk and for a moment he thought he saw Ziva sitting there.

He distinctly remembered one time two years ago when he saw her sitting at her desk and was a little surprised. Most of his agents showed up after him, but not her. She was there bright and early, ready to get to work. So he asked her, "What time do you wake up Ziva?" She replied "0400." Gibbs hated to admit it but he would miss having the company of another agent in the mornings. Even if they didn't engage in small talk, it was nice to see someone else in the office.

He jogged up the stairs to Director Sheppard's office and breezed past Cynthia and into Jen's office. He saw her standing, her head turned down, like she knew he was coming. She looked at him silently for a moment knowing exactly why he was here.

"I just got off the phone with the Israeli embassy," Jenny said a melancholy tone in her voice. "They were calling on behalf of Deputy Director David. They wanted to know if they should start making arrangements."

"What kind of arrangements?" Gibbs asked.

"What kind do you think Jethro? They want to know if they should start looking for someone to escort Ziva's body back to Tel Aviv."

"They need to check their facts. Ziva isn't dead!"

"No, but from what I was told she won't be back at work for a while will she?"

"No Jen," Gibbs stated. "She won't."

"How bad was it?"

"She has a moderate to severe head injury, four broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken wrist, broke both legs, and a possible spinal cord injury."

Jen took a breath and sighed. She couldn't believe this was happening again. Ziva had been a member of the team for two years now and she was a good agent, a little reckless, but a good agent. She knew that they had already lost Kate, and that Jethro didn't want to lose another agent. Somehow she knew that seeing that desk empty again would destroy him. She was having a hard time herself. She first met Ziva in Cairo three years ago, the young Mossad officer had saved her life. Now she wasn't going to be able to do the same.

"She doesn't deserve that," Jenny said.

"No she doesn't," Gibbs agreed. He remembered how she had saved his life after Kate had died. How she had killed her brother for him, to save him. He could remember her crying about it in his hospital room when he had amnesia. How could he forget? The image of the tough Mossad officer crying was something that struck him as odd, it was even stranger that he couldn't remember her and she had just started bursting into tears.

"I know. They had to do a blood transfusion. The blood bank is out of type O. Abby's donating two more pints for Ziva."

"I'll send an e-mail out to the agency. See if any other type O agents would be willing to take a trip to the blood bank today."

"Thanks Jen, I appreciate it."

"No problem Jethro."

"So, have you spoken directly to Deputy Director David, yet?"

"No. I've been calling the number in Ziva's file and I keep getting his assistant. It could be days before he gets here. She's his last child. I would think that the three messages I left regarding Ziva would have pulled some weight."

"Well maybe he's just away on business," Gibbs stated. "Maybe that's why the embassy is doing all the work for him."

"Maybe," Jenny stated. "I just hope Ziva comes out of this. I don't want to have to tell the Deputy Director of Mossad that another one of his children died on American soil."

"The team is still at the hospital. I didn't want to pull them away."

"They can stay. I will try to shuffle a couple of teams around to cover your duties. I don't want any of them working today if this is going to affect their performance."

"It won't affect their performance, just their attention spans. What about Ziva's car?"

"Spoke with Metro PD. They're sending it over to Abby's garage. They said it's a mess Jethro."

"She hit a pole. You were expecting it to be a little ding?"

"No. Go back to the hospital?" Jen ordered. "Make sure she's okay. An investigation can wait until tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 4

_Thanks to everyone who has put this story on alert and reviewe. Please continue to review...hopefully this chapter makes you want to review, if only to kill me. _

Chapter 4  
Abby groaned as she sat up and felt dizzy. McGee steadied her as she regained her bearings. "Now I remember why I stopped giving blood."

"The dizziness?" McGee said.

"That and the low blood sugar. I could really use a caff-pow right now."

"Maybe you should slow down. Have some fruit juice."

"No, I want to see Ziva."

"Tony's with her now. He'll call us if anything changes. We're only a few floors away."

"What was she doing at that bar so late, McGee?" Abby asked, her voice changing. She remembered how Ziva had been chatting with them the previous night. How they had been laughing and how she had messed up even more American idioms. What path changed to make her end up in that hospital bed?

"I don't know."

"We should have taken her home," Abby said, her eyes starting to tear. "She wouldn't be here today. Why didn't we notice?"

"Ziva has so much self-control. I guess we just thought that she would be able to tell when she'd had enough."

"It's no excuse McGee." Abby said as she tried to stand up only to feel faint and fall down again.

"Easy!" McGee exclaimed.

"I will not take it easy. I want to see Ziva!"

"Okay. I'll make you a deal. If we go up to see Ziva will you drink or eat something to get your blood sugar up?"

"Yeah," Abby said weakly.

"Promise?" McGee stated.

"I promise." Abby said as they left the blood bank and walked towards the elevator.

* * *

Tony was the first to go in. He was unsure of what to do. He walked up to Ziva's bed, taking in the image of his partner lying in the hospital bed. She was so pale, her normally olive skin now a pasty white from the blood loss. A ventilator forced air into her lungs, her chest rising and falling. They'd stabilized her neck with a white neck brace and the way the light sheet covered her body showed signs of a back brace as well. Wires seemed to be connected to every part of her body. Electrodes were attached to her head, monitoring her brain activity and another monitor was wrapped around her left ring finger to monitor her heart rate. Intravenous drips ran through both hands, one clearly delivering the blood she had lost. Her hands were carefully draped over her stomach, had it not been for the machinery, she would have looked like she was just sleeping.

But Tony knew that wasn't the case. There were two light boxes in the room, on them were Ziva's CT scans and her x-rays showing her broken bones. For a moment, Tony wondered if she was in pain. If she felt or was aware of anything going on around her. He knew that she was in a coma, but he also knew that studies claimed that coma patients could hear what was going on around them while they were unconscious.

He stepped closer to her bed and reached out his hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear. He couldn't remember the last time he saw all her hair down. She always had some part of it pulled back for work. He remembered when they had gone undercover as married assassins. The way her hair looked around her shoulder. She was so beautiful with her wavy hair.

He remembered how they had gone to sleep one night in the hotel and he woke up to hear her snoring. He remembered how it had annoyed him during the mission, but now he wished that she would start snoring, if only to show him that she was okay. But he knew that wouldn't happen. Not until she healed and the tube was removed from her throat.

"Hey Zee-vah" he whispered, stretching out her name. He hoped that the misuse of they syllables would anger her enough for her to wake up. "I am so sorry. I should have answered my phone. Maybe if I did you wouldn't be here. God! I should have just picked up."

"Tony!" a feminine voice came from the doorway.

Tony looked up for a moment to see Jeanne standing in the doorway. "Jeanne. Hey."

"Hey, I thought you were working today."

"I was, but then I got a call," Tony said. "A good friend of mine was in an accident. I came to visit her and see how she was going."

"How do you know Ziva?"

"I was on duty when she they brought her in. The paramedics said a bystander got her name before she lost consciousness. "

"Was she conscious when they brought her in?"

"No," Jeanne stated. "She was unresponsive. After the surgery our neurologist tested her on the Glascow coma scale. The lowest she could have scored was a three and highest a fifteen. A comatose patient is between a three and an eight. Tony, she scored a four."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that her prognosis isn't good. She has a ninety-five percent chance of death or a persistent vegetative state."

"What are you saying, Jeanne," Tony asked, his eyes still on Ziva.

"I'm saying that maybe you should consider pulling the plug."

"What?" a new voice joined the conversation. Tony and Jeanne turned to see Abby standing in the doorway.

"Abby…"

"Don't 'Abby' me, Tony. Did she just suggest we kill Ziva?"

"You wouldn't be 'killing' her per say." Jeanne stated. "Sometimes its just better than seeing a friend or family member suffer."

"Then what are were you suggesting we do with her plug? Plug her in so her brain controls the nuclear codes?"

"Abby, calm down," McGee insisted. "You need to sit down."

"I don't want to sit down! I can't lose another friend."

"Abby, no one is going to pull Ziva's plug. Her religion won't allow it," Tony stated.

"What?"

"Ziva, is Jewish. In Jewish faith anyone who dies from euthanasia or suicide is not treated the same way in death. If we send her to Tel Aviv she would not be given honors that I know she deserves. We can't do that to her." Tony told Abby. "I won't do that to her and I am sure Gibbs won't either. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Jeanne," Tony said. "Let's go for a walk."

_Anyone want to kill me? More to come._


	6. Chapter 5

_Alright, thank you for all of the reviews. I am very glad that people are responding to my story. I do have a plan for what is going to happen to Ziva, but you'll have to keep reading to find out._

Chapter 5  
Tony and Jeanne walked down the hall. "You can't be advocating euthanasia, Jeanne."

"I wasn't advocating it for the patient. I was advocating it more for her friends and family. Look, it's a bad injury. When she came in she had what was known as a doll's reflex?"

"A what?" Tony asked.

"Her eyes," Jeanne stated. "One of the ways we judge the severity of a coma is to check for responsiveness to external stimuli. We turned Ziva's head to the left and the right…"

"Wait…you turned her head when she might have a spinal injury!" Tony stated, knowing that moving a victim of a spinal injury could make the injury worse.

"We were careful, Tony…" Jeanne said. "However, my point is that the extra-ocular reflex wasn't present. Her eyes were fixed into position with each movement of her head. It's called doll's eyes."

"I don't give a damn what it's called! It doesn't mean anything about her prognosis."

"No. It just means her coma is deep enough for us to be concerned."

"We can't euthanize her Jeanne! She deserves a proper burial. Her faith won't give her one if she dies of anything other than natural causes."

"How do you know her again?"

"We're friends." Tony stated.

"Really? Is that all?"

"Her family is in Israel. She's all alone. All she has are her friends."

"How did you meet her?"

"Chance."

"Chance? What do you go to the same coffee shop?" Jeanne asked.

"Yep. You can put it that way. Except she hates coffee. She was drinking tea." Tony stated, tried to think of ways to make his lie sounds more convincing. He could tell Jeanne suspected something and didn't want to blow his cover so soon. God only knows that the Director would be made if she lost her chance to take down La Grenouille.

"Really? What is the name of that coffee shop?"

"It closed down."

"How long as she been in this country?"

"Why is that any of your concern?" Tony countered.

"You don't want me checking her story do you?"

"Do I check up on your friends?"

"No."

"Then you have my answer," Tony stated.

* * *

When Gibbs returned to the hospital, he ordered McGee to take Abby back to the lab. Abby had of course protested, wanting to stay with her friend, but Gibbs told her they needed her back at the lab. They were bringing in Ziva's car and it needed to be processed. Once they left, Gibbs was alone with the unconscious Ziva.

She appeared to be sleeping and if it wasn't for the gash on her forehead Gibbs would have believed it. The EKG next to her head was beeping and he silently cursed the machine.

"I hate those machines," he said to the unconscious Ziva. "The only thing I remember about my comas was hearing is that beeping."

He racked his brain. Wondering what he could do to bargain with her. Maybe he could offer her another gun. Like Ziva would turn down another weapon. If this were Abby it would have been easy. Just dangle a caf-pow in front of her and she would be up in a second. Ziva on the other hand. How do you bargain with a trained assassin?

"If you wake up. I'll let you kill DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "I've already hit him a couple times for not answering his phone when you called him. I think you need to whip some sense into him."

"Boss!" Tony whispered as he walked into Ziva's room, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Any change?"

"No," Gibbs stated as he took the coffee cup DiNozzo was holding.

"Boss, that's my coffee!"

"Yea, and its hospital coffee DiNozzo! What are you thinking drinking that swill?"

"That's just the sugar, Boss," Tony said. "What did the director say?"

"She's generating an e-mail asking anyone else in the agency with Type O blood to donate."

"Smart thinking."

"And her car is being brought back to Abby's garage. She's going to process it, tomorrow."

"After she's had a few caf-pows?"

Gibbs just stared at him. Suddenly something caught his eye. "Where are Ziva's personal affects?"

"In that bag on the shelf," Tony stated. "They didn't return her clothes, so this was just what they collected from her." Gibbs looked through the bad marked Ziva David and dumped the contents out on the table by Ziva's bed. "Looking for something particular?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo!" Gibbs said as he sorted through the receipts, change, and cell phone in the bag.

"Ah! You're still pissed aren't you?"

"You think!" Gibbs said as he slapped him over the head.

"What was that for?"

"Ziva wouldn't be here if you had just picked up your damn phone! Rule Number 2: Never screw over your partner?"

"Got it, Boss! Find what you are looking for in Ziva's personal affects?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said and he picked up her Star of David necklace. "She never takes this off."

"I think surgery is an exception."

"Still, it should be with her," Gibbs stated as he took one of Ziva's hands and placed the necklace inside. "Besides, she needs her faith now more than ever."

_Like it? Hate it? Let me know._


	7. Chapter 6

_Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and gave me such a positive response to my last chapter. Here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like this one._

Chapter 6

"So this is the result of Ziva vs. a pole," McGee stated as he and Abby looked at the smashed wreck that used to be Ziva's red mini cooper in front of them. "How did Ziva survive such a wreck?"

"Ziva's invincible," Abby stated. "No one can hurt her."

"Well, that pole did. By the look of the damage done, I'd say she was lucky to walk away."

"Oh so you're a forensics expert now?"

"No," McGee stated. "But, the car is usually a good indication as to whether or not the driver should survive right?"

"Yes," Abby said. "But you can fix Ziva's car, if you had 20,000 or so to throw around."

"Cheaper to just get a new one," McGee stated.

"That's not the point McGee. We can't get a new Ziva, no matter how much we pay for one."

"We might be able to get a robotic Ziva?" He suggested, earning a slap from Abby. "What was that for?"

"Don't joke about Ziva! She's practically on death's door right now!"

"Sorry," McGee stated.

"You don't think she's going to survive, do you?" Abby questioned.

"No, Abby, she'll be fine. Like you said. Ziva's a fighter. She won't give up."

With that Abby throw her arms around McGee. "I hope so."

* * *

When Gibbs walked into the Director's office the next day she simply looked at him with an exasperated look as Jethro sat down. He couldn't tell if she was annoyed at him for not knocking or with what he guessed was the Israeli embassy on the phone. He could however, see the bags under eyes, meaning that she probably hadn't slept last night.

"No! You tell Deputy Director David that we need to speak to him via teleconference ASAP!" she ordered. "I understand he's a busy man but tell him it concerns family." Another pause. "Right, I understand." She hung up the phone and hung her head in her hands. "Leazazel."

"Ziva been teaching you Hebrew?" Gibbs asked.

"No, I picked it up from her in Cairo when our car broke down."

"Oh, so you only know the bad words and insults?" Jethro smiled.

"You would think that a father would be more concerned about losing his daughter."

Jethro thought back to Kelly and Shannon, how he would have moved heaven and earth when he'd lost them. How he would have given anything to save them. "Maybe he's lost one too many children."

"It's not an excuse. Even when I first met Ziva, I knew that they weren't on good terms. However, I know that if he was dying she would be on the first flight out to Tel Aviv."

"You sure about that Jen?"

"Ziva may be hard on the outside but she isn't inhuman. You've heard her cry."

Suddenly, Gibbs thought about when she had called him in Mexico, how he could hear her masked tears through the phone as she said, "Maybe…Save me." Jenny was right. Ziva was a person. She was human, and she deserved to have her father at her side. "Dial the Deputy Director again."

"What are you planning on doing Jethro?" Jenny said as she picked up the handset and dialed the phone.

"He won't listen to you. Let's see how he likes being screamed at by a marine."

Jenny looked at him in surprise. There was a reason Jethro wasn't Director and she was sure that this would only add to the case. She listened as he yelled at the Deputy Director. When he hung up he placed the headset back on her desk and smiled. "They'll be contacting us tomorrow morning at 1300 Eastern Standard Time."

"That gives us four hours," Jenny said. "Go back to the hospital."

"No," Gibbs said. "You should go. You and Ziva have a history, and you haven't seen her yet. I can supervise my team."

"Is anyone else there with her?"

"Tony. I slapped him upside the head for not obeying Rule #2."

"Never screw over your partner."

"Yep, and he deserves many more slaps on the head."

"He couldn't have known that Ziva was going to get into an accident!"

"She was at a bar Jen, do you really think something good was going to happen."

"Still, Ziva's driving is bad enough as it is. I drove through Eastern Europe with her, I should know. How much worse could it be after consuming some alcohol?"

"I'm guessing pretty bad. Considering she wrapped her car around a pole." Gibbs said as he stood up and walked out of her office.

_Please review. Always nice to hear from my readers._


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jenny went to the hospital shortly after Gibbs left her office. She carried a bouquet of flowers in her hand, intent on sprucing up Ziva's ICU room. She didn't bother stopping at the receptionists' desk, just headed for the ICU where she found Tony standing outside the door to Ziva's room.

"Agent DiNozzo," she greeted as she peered inside the room to find it empty.

"Director."

"Where's Ziva?"

"They took her for another CAT scan just to make sure her head injury wasn't getting worse," Tony said. "They should be back in about a half hour."

"Is she really as bad as Gibbs says she is?"

"Her coma is pretty deep. One of the doctors already suggested we pull the plug on her life support."

"You're kidding."

"No, it was Jeanne."

"She saw you with Ziva?"

"Yeah, she got a little suspicious."

"Tony we are very close to La Grenouille. We can't afford for your cover to be blown now..."

"I know Director. I told her she was just a friend."

"Did she believe you?"

"I don't think so…" The director sighed. "Director I know I can't blow this. So I am going to talk to her later tonight."

"Hopefully you can come up with a convincing cover as to how you know Ziva."

"And what happens when I see Abby, McGee, and Gibbs?"

"You're friends."

"Got it," Tony said as he looked down the hall to see Ziva's physician coming towards them. "Her doctor's coming this way."

Jenny looked down the hall to see a man in green scrubs walk down the hallway. His steps didn't give any hint of emotion, his body language was neutral. Jenny couldn't even begin to predict what the doctor was going to tell them. She did know that it would be one of three things. Either she was the same, or she was improving, or things had gotten worse.

"Tony," the doctor's said. "We're transporting Ziva up from radiology now."

"What did the scans reveal anything, Doctor?"

"Her brain seems to be healing well. I still can't tell you when she'll wake up, but this is definitely a step in the right direction."

"So she's improving?" Jenny clarified.

"It means the coma is definitely helping her heal. We just need to give her some time to heal."

"When will they bring her back up?" Tony asked.

"In about five minutes. I left her in the hands of a few capable nurses they'll be up soon."

"Thank you, Doctor," Jenny said.

It was another ten minutes before two nurses appeared pushing a stretcher with the unconscious Israeli laying on it. She was so still, so pale. A portable ventilator was attached to the railing of the gurney, forcing air into Ziva's lungs. The last time Jenny had seen Ziva like this had been in Cairo, when they were captured and tortured. Though, in that case, her face looked like a giant black and blue bruise. She watched as the nurses wheeled her into the room.

She remembered watching their captors hit Ziva, trying to break the hard Mossad Officer. Ziva had been so strong during those days of captivity. She withstood so much, and still this was the worse Jen had seen her.

"God, Ziva." Jenny muttered.

"It will be a few minutes," one of the nurses said. "We just need a few minutes to get her settled."

* * *

Abby spent hours pulling apart Ziva's Mini Cooper, inspecting the car. She felt it in her gut that Ziva wasn't at fault. Tony once said that Ziva drove ninety-five miles and hour down a dirt road in the middle of the night. If that didn't kill them then Abby wasn't sure what would. Of course everything she knew about alcohol told her that the first thing it affected was your judgment and then your physical reflexes. But still she worked.

As she looked under the hood she checked the engine, the motor, the different types of fluid and just about every wire that she could find in the tangled wreckage. She didn't even notice when Gibbs walked in carrying a caf-pow.

"Can you use one of these, Abs?" he asked holding the caff-pow in front of her.

"Yes. Please!" Abby answered.

"Find anything suspicious in Ziva's car yet?"

"No, not yet…except…" Abby stated as something caught her eye.

"I'm not saying the magic word Abs," Gibbs stated.

"Her brakes?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"I think they were tampered with, and if that's the case, then Ziva isn't at fault."

_Thanks for reading, and remember, reviews feed the muse._


	9. Chapter 8

_Thank you very much to my loyal reviewers and for all who are alerted to this story and to the anonymous ones who are reading but don't review (please shout out and let me know who you are so I can know your thoughts)._

Chapter 8

"Ziva's brake line was filled with air, and the brake pads were worn," Abby said.

"Couldn't that just mean that Ziva's brakes were faulty?" McGee questioned, earning a slap from Abby. "Owww!"

"Don't have negative thoughts McGee…besides, I have an explaination," Abby pulled up another photo on the screen. "Not only did Ziva have a brake inspection last month, the tubing in her brake line had a microscopic puncture. Air was leaking into tires, while brake fluid was leaking out."

"And that deteriorates her braking system," Gibbs stated.

"Exactly. It wouldn't have mattered how Ziva was driving. She could have been the safest driver in the world. She was driving a death trap."

"Maybe, it could still mean that Ziva's mechanic was negligent," Gibbs stated.

"Or, Ziva's mechanic wanted her dead because he had a beef with Israelis."

"It's still circumstantial. According to Ziva's blood test, her BAC was elevated. Which means that unless we prove otherwise, Ziva's going to be fired for drunk driving."

"Which means, she has to go back to Israel?" McGee stated.

"We can't let that happen," Abby stated. "Ziva's part of our team. We can't just let Mossad call her back, and in her condition…"

"I know…in her condition Mossad would terminate her, she would have no way to make a living."

"I was actually referring to Israel's healthcare…"

"Israel actually has a pretty advanced healthcare system," McGee stated.

"But the insurgents…"

"We'll figure that out if it comes to it. Either way, the SecNav is going to see this drunk driving."

"Which means we lose Ziva either way," McGee said.

* * *

When 1300 approached, Gibbs and Jenny walked into MTAC to find Deputy Director David on teleconference for them. They stood in the middle of the dark room as Tel Aviv's feed came on the screen. Gibbs was expecting someone scarier. The way Ziva always talked about her father he seemed like someone that would scare anyone, but not Gibbs. He remembered when Ziva first showed up in the bullpen when they were tracking down Ari. When they asked Ziva if Deputy Director David was her father, she seemed combative. "David is a popular Israeli name." Gibbs recalled her saying.

"Deputy Director David," Jenny answered.

"Shalom Director," he replied. "Nice to see you again. And, Special Agent Gibbs, was it really necessarily for you to scream at my assistant."

"When it comes to parents that don't seem to value their children, yes."

"Deputy Director David," Jenny stated. "Ziva's in pretty bad shape. She has a head injury, broken bones, a possible…"

"I know what her condition is, they sent a copy of her file to the embassy and they faxed it to me."

"If you know how bad she's been hurt then why aren't you coming to Washington."

"I've lost two children already, neither of them fought death..." Deputy Director David stated.

"So you're afraid to face Ziva! Your own daughter!"

"Ziva and I have not been on good terms the past few years and after Ari's death, the rift between us got worse."

"That doesn't necessarily mean she wouldn't want to see you..." Jenny said.

"You don't know that," Deputy Director David stated. "Ziva's strong willed. She can take care of herself. Shalom."

He disconnected the videoconference leaving the Director and Gibbs staring at a blank screen. Gibbs looked like he was about to kill the first thing that crossed his path. His last child was injured, she might be dying. You would think a father would want to be with his daughter.

"Jethro," Jenny stated. "Deputy Director David and Ziva have a very different relationship than you and Kelly."

"Of course…he bred his children to go into a government agency and to work in a family business."

"Are you saying that if Kelly wanted to grow up to be a marine you wouldn't have let her?"

"No, I would have, but it had to be right for her. Ziva came her because she needed time away from Mossad. Having Daddy as her boss complicates things."

"Maybe you should amend rule twelve."

"Never date a coworker, and never work with family." Gibbs stated.

* * *

Ziva's room was so quiet. Tony was starting to get annoyed by the beeping of machines. He wished that all the wires weren't attached to Ziva. He wanted to see her pristine face. He wanted to hear her mess up an idiom. He wanted Ziva back.

Thinking that he wouldn't have any other option, he opened up his backpack and took out a stack of movies and a portable DVD player. He found his copy of _The 40-Year-Old Virgin _and placed it into the player.

"Alright, Zee-vah! If you refuse to wake up. Hopefully this movie will help." He turned up the volume as high as it can go. "When you wake up, one of these day I am going to have to show you _The Godfather_, I think you'll like it. It's all about the Italian mob. Assassinations and contract killings, sounds right up your ally doesn't it Zee-vah?"

Tony stopped for a minute. He had been picking on Ziva for the past two years. She was a good friend, and he knew she didn't take it the wrong way, but she was in a coma. What if she didn't want to come back to that? Maybe he should change his ways. Stop being a jerk.

"Okay Ziva, how about I make you a deal. You come out of your coma. I stop pronouncing you name Zee-vah? How does that sound?"

She didn't respond. He half expected to see her eyelids flutter open or her hand to move. He wanted the monitors to change, but they didn't. She was unconscious. Tony hoped that her brain continued to heal. He wanted his partner back. As bad an idea as it seemed, he would even let her drive if she woke up, but for the moment he would stick to promising to say her name right.

Then the nurse walked in and started checking Ziva's vitals. "She seems stronger," the nurse stated.

"That's good right?"

"Yea…" she said as she flashed a penlight into Ziva's eyes. She gasped as Ziva's eyes closes in reaction to the light and put the penlight away. "Oh my god."

"What?"

"Her pupils just reacted to the light."

"Does that mean that she's waking up?" Tony asked, hoping that she would open her eyes and everything would be okay.

"Not exactly, but it does mean that her coma is lifting. I'll get her doctor in here, he can reevaluate it for you."

"Thank you," Tony said as the nurse left and he was left with comatose Ziva.

_Want more? Review, because as always, they feed my muse.  
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	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Okay DiNozzo. I'll tell them," Gibbs said as he hung up his cell phone. "That was DiNozzo. The Doctor's increased Ziva's Glascow score from a four to a seven."

"Yay!" Abby shouted.

"What changed?" McGee asked.

"The nurse came in and shined a penlight into her eyes. She reacted. When they evaluated her again they found that she was starting to react to it. When the reevaluated her on the Glascow Coma Scale she went from a four to a seven. She was starting to show abnormal reflexes to painful stimuli."

"So does that mean she's waking up?" Abby asked.

"No. She still has a long way to go. She's just improving."Abby raised her hand. "Abs, I don't know anything else."

"Can I go see her?" Abby asked.

"Finish processing the brake line, and then you are free to go." Gibbs stated.

"Yay!"

"McGee, run down Ziva's car and review the traffic cam footage. If someone tampered with Ziva's brake they had to have been following her."

"Boss, do you really think this is fowl play?"

"Rule eight, McGee!"

"Never leave home without your knife?" McGee asked.

"No! Never take anything for granted. It looks like drunk driving but it can very well be foul play."

* * *

When Abby finally she finished the break line she immediately drove her hearse to St. Margaret's. She ran to the elevator in her platform heels and pushed the button for Ziva's floor. When she arrived at Ziva's room she anxiously looked through the window to see Ziva laying in her hospital bed, her eyes closed. Tony was sitting beside her, holding her hand and fiddling with an earbud headphone that he was trying to put in her ear.

"Showing her a movie Tony?" Abby asked.

"At least trying to get her to hear the movie," Tony said.

"Gibbs told us the good news," Abby stated.

"I wouldn't call it good. Maybe bittersweet."

"How so?"

"She's waking but she won't fully wake for some time. It's a glimmer of hope but not enough for us to sleep at night."

"Were you here all night?"

"Yea."

"Why didn't you go home and get some sleep?" Abby asked.

"Well, Gibbs would have my ass if I left and anything happened. I am pretty certain he will let Ziva kill me already when she wakes up. I broke Rule Two. That is almost unforgivable in his book."

"Gibbs will forgive you. He just won't apologize. You know what he thinks about apologies."

"A sign of weakness," Tony stated.

"How is she doing?"

"A little better. Instead of laying there like a broken doll, she's responding to certain stimuli and made a few incomprehensible sounds before."

"Were you showing her a movie?"

"Yeah, one she probably wouldn't have enjoyed if she was conscious."

"What are you having her listen to now?"

"_Mr. and Mrs. Smith._"

"Assassins for the assassin. Nice pick!"

"Find anything in Ziva's car?"

"Yes, faulty break line," Abby stated.

"Faulty as in, bad mechanic, or faulty as in someone tried to kill her?"

"The second one," Abby stated. "We're running down everyone who came into contact with Ziva's car in the past few days. The important thing is that Ziva wasn't at fault, at least not entirely."

Tony looked over at Ziva, resisting the urge to lunch on top of her and give her a huge hug. She wasn't at fault. She was stupid enough to drive drunk, but not stupid enough not to have her breaks checked. He wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, that she could wake up and they would clarify it.

He took a deep breath, and bent down next to her, "Hear that Ziva, you weren't entirely at fault. You can wake up Ziva. No one is going to treat you any differently."

Immediately after he said that, he wanted to take it back. He knew the odds of her coming out of a coma and being completely fine were about a million to one considering her brain injury and her spinal cord injury. She was going to be in rehab for quite some time, at best. If she ever left the rehab facility. It was all going to depend on Ziva.

Suddenly the rhythm coming from the ventilator changed. The sound suddenly went from a smooth hiss to a violent raspy cough.

"What's going on?" Abby asked.

"I don't know. Get the Doctor!" Tony asked as he leaned over Ziva and gently stroked her face. "It's okay Ziva, just don't fight it. We'll get the doctor to take it out!" He looked up from Ziva's face, painted with anguish and watched as the doctors and nurses ran in. "Hurry!" He shouted as Ziva's body continued to choke on the tube in her throat.

_The next chapter has me really excited, so give me some reviews and you might be seeing it sooner than you think.  
_


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When the doctors and nurses arrived they immediately order Tony out of the room before turning their attention to the choking Ziva. Tony could hear the doctor order that the ventilator be extracted and watched the awful sight as they cut the oxygen to the tube and pulled the tube out of her mouth. Tony could tell Ziva's breaths were short and he was relieved when the doctor placed an oxygen mask over her face to even out her breathing.

Tony had to admit, Ziva looked much more pristine without the serpent-like tube down her throat and the electrodes attached to her forehead. It had to be a good sign that the wires were coming off. It meant she was getting better and living independently of life support.

When the doctor came out to talk to Tony and Abby, he had a slight smile on his face. Tony took it to mean that the doctor was hopeful and she would wake up soon.

"Mr. DiNozzo, Ms. Shuito, Ms. David is doing very well."

"Is she waking up?" Abby asked.

"Not yet, but breathing on her own is a huge step. She can wake anywhere from a few hours to a days from now. She's managed to elevate her Glascow score to an eight now, which amazes me, since she was almost dead when she was brought in."

"Don't believe in miracles doctor?" Abby asked.

"No, I believe. It's hard not to in this business, but in a case like Ziva's you just have to wonder exactly what's motivating her to keep fighting?"

"Ziva doesn't quit. Never has, and never will."

"The fighters are what make my job worthwhile," the doctor said. "You can go in and see her now. It looks like the nurses are finishing up."

"Thank you, doctor," Tony said as he moved towards the door of Ziva's room with Abby on his tail.

The room seemed brighter when they entered this time. With some of the wires removed they were starting to her more as a person than they did as a shell. She was a human again, looking more like the Ziva they were familiar with.

"Ziva!" Abby shouted. "You need to wake up, soon. Cos, you know you were totally not at fault! We found evidence that someone tampered with your car. The crash wasn't your fault!"

"Abby, save some of the news for when she wakes up."

"I thought that maybe she would like to know that no one is going to look at her any differently when she wakes up. That she didn't have to fear any of us being mad at her."

"Why would we be mad at her? That's why they're called accidents."

"Well still. If coma patients can hear as they say, she could use the reassurance."

"She's gonna wake up Abs," Tony said. "And she'll be fine."

"Have they made any progress on her spinal injury? Do they know how much damage was done?"

"No. I think they were too concerned with her head to worry about that just yet. They said they really have no way of knowing how much damage was done until she wakes up, and even then it might be temporary."

"When are you coming back to the office?" Abby asked.

"Not until Gibbs decides to forgive me. He's pretty pissed. I think he blames me for Ziva's accident. She was trying to call me before she got behind the wheel."

"She could have easily been in a crash the next day or the day after that. Her car was a ticking timebomb, Tony."

"I take it he doesn't fully believe your theory?"

"No, he doesn't. I am working to prove it."

"It would be nice if she wasn't at fault. Maybe then she wouldn't need to face a severe reprimand."

"We aren't going to let her get fired, Tony. We need her! We need her as part of our team." Abby said. "Look, why don't you go get some lunch? I will sit with Ziva for a while."

"No, if anything happens Gibbs will have my ass."

"Tony please, go eat something. If anything happens to Ziva I will have the doctors call you."

* * *

Tony hated the hospital food almost as much as he hated hospitals, but regardless he paid for a grilled chicken sandwich and some coffee and took a seat. He didn't like being away from Ziva. He worried about whether or not Ziva was okay. He hoped that Gibbs wouldn't decide to stop by, because if he did, Tony was as good as dead. He opened up the cellophane and took out a sandwich taking a bite when Jeanne walked by.

"Tony?" she stated. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Ziva," Tony stated after he swallowed part of his sandwich.

"May I sit down?" she asked Tony.

"Please," he said. "I would like the company."

"Listen I am sorry about what I said earlier. That was out of line. I had no place in telling you to consider to pull the plug when I hardly knew her case," Jeanne apologized.

"It's okay," Tony smiled half-heartedly. He didn't want to tell Jeanne how much it would hurt to lose Ziva. Such a dear friend, even if they spent a lot of time bickering with each other.

"I hear she is doing better."

"Her Glascow coma score went from a three to an eight, and her doctor thinks she will wake up soon."

"Oh. Did they say how long it would be until she woke up?"

"They said anywhere from a few hours to a few days."

"Not bad," Jeanne said. "So, do you want to meet for dinner later?"

"Can I take a raincheck?" Tony asked. "I am just worried about Ziva, she's a really good friend."

"I was looking at her file."

"I thought those files were confidential, between just the doctor and the patient."

"Well, I don't plan on talking to anyone about it, but you. Her file says she's an Israeli immigrant?"

"Yes," Tony stated. "She came to work in this country almost two years ago."

"She's legal right?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Tony…"

"Yes, she's legal. She had a permit and she just applied for a green card. She doesn't want to go back to Israel, her and her father don't get along."

"Did you know her before she came to America?"

"No. I met her after she got her life set up here. She needed a friend in America. She lives alone, she has no brothers or sisters. She was alone. I don't want her to die the same way."

"Tony…" Jeanne started as Tony's phone vibrated.

"Hold on one second," Tony stated as he picked up his phone to hear Abby's voice.

"I'll be right there," Tony said as he hung up the phone. "I am sorry Jeanne, I've got to go."

* * *

When Tony came back to Ziva's room he saw that the doctor was once again in Ziva's room with Abby standing outside. She looked at him and threw her arms around Tony, hugging him.

"Tony!"

"Abs, what's going on."

"She's awake," Abby stated.

"What?" Tony asked, pulling away from the hug and looking towards the window. He took a deep breath, Ziva's eyes were open and the doctors were with her, He saw as her eyes looked towards the window to see him there and suddenly his good spirits fell as he could see the message in her eyes.

_You screwed up DiNozzo You screwed up large time._

* * *

_There you have it. Ziva's awake. More drama to come._

* * *


	12. Chapter 11

_Thanks for the booming response after the last chapter. I hope you are still excited to read this fic as I am to write it, particularly with the exciting revelations ahead._

Chapter 11

Tony didn't waste anytime. He walked into Ziva's room. "Ziva!" Tony exclaimed.

"Sir, can you please wait outside?"

"No. I want to talk to Ziva!" Tony said.

"Mr. DiNozzo, we need to finish examining Ms. David, after we're done you can see her," the doctor assured him. Tony just took a seat in the corner of the room and watched as the doctor continued to check Ziva over. They asked her to do things like blink her eyes twice, to squeeze his hands, to say her name, who the President of the United States was. The check went on and on until they got to the part Tony was dreading. He watched as the doctor moved his hand down to Ziva's thigh and gently pinched it. "Can you feel that?" The doctor asked her.

"Feel…what?" Ziva's raspy voice asked. "What's going on? Where's Tony."

"I'm right here," Tony said as he got up and stood at the foot of the bed. "It's okay, Ziva. Just relax."

"Okay, Ms. David, we're going to send a nurse in to take some blood, until then, do you remember Mr. DiNozzo?"

"Yes," Ziva said.

"Okay, I need to talk to him outside for a minute. Try to stay awake," the doctor turned him. "Tony, can I talk to you outside?"

"Sure," Tony stood up and followed the Doctor outside.

"I probably should have told you and Ms. David together, but I have some bittersweet news."

"What is it, doc?" Tony asked as Abby joined them.

"Mrs. David seems to be doing pretty well. However, as far as we can tell, she has no memory of the trauma itself. The last thing she remembers is leaving the bar. She is obeying voice commands but she's still a little weak, but that's to be expected. Regarding her legs, she seems to have minimal sensation in them. I pinched her skin hard enough to bruise and she barely felt it.. We'll try again tomorrow, daily until we can be certain that our results are clear, but until then, she's going to need a wheelchair."

"Are you saying she's paralyzed, doctor?" Tony asked.

"At this point, yes, but since she does have feeling her in her legs, it gives me hope that it is only temporary. However, she is going to need months of physical therapy before she recovers."

Tony left out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. Ziva? In a wheelchair?" Paralyzed? How could those two words be in the same sentence? Ziva's paralyzed? She couldn't walk. He could just imagine how she was going to react when she found out. She wouldn't be happy. She wasn't going to like being taken care of. She would rather die then be an invalid.

"When are you going to start therapy?"

"We'll start in the hospital, since her legs are still broken we want to make sure to take it slow. Otherwise we could do her more harm than good. Ideally we should let her legs heal before we put her through any physical therapy regimine…"

"It won't be ideal. You don't know Ziva like we do."

"Okay. Should we tell her this, if she asks?" Abby questioned.

"You can," the doctor said. "Try to get her to drink some ice chips too while you're in there. I know this news sound bleak, but Ziva is young and she still has an excellent chance for recovery."

"Thank you, doctor," Tony said.

"Can we go see her now?"

"Of course," the doctor said as he stepped away from the door.

"Abby, did you…" Tony began.

"Call the team. Yes. They know. They'll be on their way soon. I'll wait for them. Go inside."

"Okay," Tony said as he took a step into Ziva's room. "Ziva?" he questioned as he entered the room and saw the doctor drawing blood from her arm, Ziva was laying back with her eyes closed For a moment Tony feared she had lapsed into a coma again. The nurses had replaced the oxygen mask with a nasal cannula and Ziva's face looked much more pristine. Her neck brace and back brace was gone as well after they had assessed her spinal injury. Tony smiled at how normal she looked, not like that someone blending into white machinery. "Ziva?" he questioned as he pushed her hair back from the side of her face. Her eyelids fluttered open and she immediately jumped into ninja-girl mode as she reached her hand under her pillow, looking for her sig. "Woah!" Tony exclaimed. "It's okay."

"Tony!" Ziva exclaimed. "Don't do that, you scared me."

"Sorry. I was just trying to see if you were awake."

"Mission accomplished," Ziva stated, her voice quiet. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I didn't have it on me," Tony stated. "Why did you get behind the wheel?" She just looked away. "Ziva! Talk to me?"

"I feel like a donkey's butt! I shouldn't have gotten into my car."

"Why did you?"

"Because I was angry."

"Angry and drunk?" Tony said. "That is never a good combination, Ziva."

"I know. I was stupid."

"Do you remember anything from the time you got into the car until your crash?"

Ziva tried to remember but could only think of flashes. The red light she blew. The way she changed lanes on the beltway. The song on the radio, the way the song made her feel. The moment she drifted onto the other side of the road, and then a stranger calling her to wake up.

"No," Ziva said. "Just glimpses, fractured memories. Why?"

"Ziva, I can't really discuss the case too much with you, but who had access to your car before the accident."

"Well my car is on the street, so many people."

"Any gas station attendants, mechanics, good citizens?"

"No, not that I can remember," Ziva stated as she coughed.

Tony reached to the bedside table and picked up the pitcher of ice chips and poured out a glass, putting a straw into the glass. "It's okay," Tony said as he gently cradled her head and tipped it upwards so she could sip from the straw. "Just drink. You're mouth probably dry from the ventilator."

"Thank you, Tony" Ziva said as she leaned back and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry for all this."

"Nothing to be sorry for, that's why they're called accident's Ziva."

"I should have called a cab, Tony. Now Gibbs is probably on your ass because I called you before I got behind the wheel."

"Well he has been hitting me upside the head a lot more since you came to the hospital, but as long as you're okay I think I can live with it." He noticed how heavy Ziva's eyelids were getting. "Are you tired, Ziva?" Ziva nodded slowly. "Rest up, Ziva. The team should be here any minute to check up on you."

"Okay, Tony. Wake me when they arrive."

"You're not going to shoot me are you?" Tony asked.

"No," Ziva smiled.

"Okay. Just sleep," Tony stated as he stroked Ziva's hair and she fell asleep. When he was sure she was unconscious he whispered in her ear. "I love you, Ziva."

* * *


	13. Chapter 12

_Okay sorry this one is a little later. Some things have come up in the last couple days. I promise to get the next one up ASAP. I hope you guys don't go anywhere because the next few chapters are going to be an interesting ride._

Chapter 12

The first place Gibbs went after Abby called was the Director's Office where he once again blew past Cynthia, stating that it concerned Officer David. It appeared to be an acceptable excuse since she immediately shut up and let him go through the doors. Jenny was doing paperwork. Reviewing case files.

"Jethro?"

"Abby just called from the hospital."

Suddenly Jenny's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Ziva had taken a turn for the worst? That she was going to have to call the embassy and make arrangements to ship her body back to Tel Aviv after all? She held her breath as she asked her face painted with worry for her friend. "Ziva?"

"She's awake, Jen." Gibbs stated.

Jen let out a breath. Thank god Ziva was awake. "Did she tell you anything else? Was there any permanent damage from the accident?"

"She didn't tell me anything. She said that the doctors were testing her responsiveness and awareness. McGee and I are heading over to the hospital now to see her. Want to come?"

"I have some paperwork to finish up, but tell Ziva I will be by later."

"Okay," Gibbs stated. "I'll call you once I know more about her condition."

"Okay." Jethro turned to leave before Jenny spoke again. "Oh and Jethro," He turned back. "Don't scare me like that again."

* * *

Gibbs and McGee arrived to find DiNozzo alone in Ziva's room. Ziva appeared to be sleeping comfortably. Most of the wires were gone. Just the IVs and heart monitor remaining to monitor her condition. The soft and steady beeps of the monitor were reassuring, she was alive. She was going to be okay. DiNozzo was sleeping in the chair next to Ziva's bed. For a moment Gibbs wondered where Abby went. He didn't give it a second thought, thinking she had gone in search of sugar in a vending machine or down to the cafeteria in an attempt to get Ziva to eat something.

Gibbs tapped Tony on the shoulder and he jumped in response, "Hey boss. Good to see that you're here, let me wake her for you."

"Don't DiNozzo."

"Boss, she told me to."

"I don't give a damn what she told you to, she needs her rest. Comas are tiring."

"Where's Abby?" McGee interjected.

"She's gone in search of lunch," Tony stated. "For herself, Ziva, and I."

"Did they tell you anything about Ziva's condition?" Gibbs asked, trying to get back on track.

"Yeah," Tony said.

"Well?" Gibbs asked. "Was there any permanent damage?"

"Boss shouldn't we be talking outside? What if Ziva...?"

"What if Ziva does what?" a sleeping voice joined the conversation. Tony turned his head to Ziva's bed to find her with eyes like slits. Half open and catching just a glimmer of light on her pupils.

"Hey, did we wake you?"

"No," Ziva lied.

"Liar," Tony said.

"What did the doctor say?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing that can't wait Ziva, just relax," Tony said.

"No, tell me what's going on, Tony, please."

"Nothing sweetie, you're just going to need a few months of physical therapy or your legs."

"What's wrong with my legs?" Ziva asked, worried. She remembered what the doctor had been trying to do. How he had asked her if she could feel something and she couldn't. She remember what felt like someone prodding her softly. She wasn't sure if it had been an accident or if the doctor had deliberately touched her. She racked her brain trying to think of where. Where was he touching me? What could have been injured? Then suddenly she remembered. "Oh god, Tony! Is something wrong with my legs?"

"No, no Ziva," Tony said. "You're legs are okay…"

"Then why couldn't I feel them?"

Tony appeared to be taken aback by her question. He didn't want to answer. Didn't want to tell her the whole truth, didn't know how to tell her the whole truth. He didn't want her to see what the doctors had shown him. The x-rays and test results that broke his heart.

"Ziva, get some rest, we can talk later tonight."

"No, now! Tell me what's wrong with me!"

"Ziva. I promise, I will tell you tonight, but I need you to get some sleep first, okay."

"Ziva he promised right in front of me. If he breaks it he will be getting all your head slaps for a year," Gibbs stated.

Ziva smiled at her boss' comment. "Okay," she said, her eyelids growing heavy. "As long as you promise!"

"He'll keep it," Gibbs said as he watched her eyes close and she fell asleep. "McGee, stay with Ziva and DiNozzo, I want to talk to you out in the hall."

"Sure thing boss," Tony said as he got up and followed Gibbs out into the hallway.

"Now, tell me what you didn't say to Ziva," he commanded.

"The doctors aren't sure of her prognosis yet. She has minimal sensation in her legs which either way is going to require months of physical therapy. Months that she is going to have to spend in a wheelchair."

"And why couldn't you tell her this?"

"I didn't want her to get upset. I know Ziva isn't going to like having to be dependent on someone."

"Yea Tony, but she's going to need to know before she starts physical therapy and the doctors tell her. Wouldn't it be better if it came from you?"

"You're right boss. I just don't want to see her broken up."

"Ziva will be okay. She's strong, but when she's recovering she's going to need someone to lean on."

"I know," Tony said. "I'm not going to leave her. I made that mistake once before.

* * *


	14. Chapter 13

_So a little gift to you faithful readers and reviewers. Two chapters in one day._

Chapter 13

Ziva didn't wake up again till the next morning. Tony spent the night with her, hoping that she would wake up soon. Abby had procured a sandwich from the cafeteria and left it on the bedside table with Ziva's Star or David. Tony was resisting the urge to eat it when he woke up at five a.m. The cafeteria wasn't open yet and he didn't want to leave her.

When she woke up, it was eight in the morning, when the doctors were changing the bag of saline solution on her IV. "Hey," she whispered. Her voice scratchy and her throat dry. Tony poured her a glass of ice chips, adjusting Ziva's bed so that she was sitting up. He helped her balance the glass in her hand and she took a sip of the ice chips. "What time is it?" she asked between sips.

"It's eight in the morning."

"Eight? Why didn't you wake me?" Ziva asked.

Tony knew that sleeping until eight was late for her. She was used to early mornings, going for runs. Still he liked watching her sleep. He didn't want to tell her that, but he had a feeling that she already knew.

"You need your rest," he answered.

"True, but you also owe me an explanation," Ziva stated. "What did the doctors tell you that they didn't tell me?"

"Okay," he began as he took her hand. He saw the expression on her face change. She knew this wasn't going to be good. Tony took a deep breath. He knew that she was going to be angry. That she was going to be upset. She wasn't going to like being reliant on other people and he knew she wasn't going to like that what he had to say.

"Tony?" Ziva stated. "Please. Tell me."

"Alright, the doctors said that you're going to need a wheelchair for the next several months. The sensation in your legs is minimal, but they aren't sure about your prognosis yet."

"So," Ziva stated. "What are you telling me? I might not be able to walk again?"

"The doctors aren't sure yet. They said that the chances are slim, they showed me the x-rays from your spine and there is extensive swelling around the area. They said it was going to take time to heal. They can't tell if there's going to be lasting damage, yet, Ziva." She was silent. Tony could see the tears hiding behind her eyes. He didn't want to see her cry. This was not fair. Why was this happening to her? Wordlessly, Tony put a hand on her shoulder before pulling her close. "Its okay, Ziva," he said as he heard her start crying. Her body was racked with sobs and Tony held her closer. "It's okay. You can let it out."

"What if I can't come back to NCIS?" Ziva sobbed.

"That won't happen," Tony whispered.

"What if immigration sends me back to Israel?"

"Then Gibbs and the Director will find a way to keep you here." Suddenly Tony's mind flashed back to the conversation he'd had with Jeanne a few days ago. The way she had been asking about Ziva's immigration status, like she had a plan. God, if he didn't have to continue his charade with her he would have just break off their relationship here and now. "You have a green card," Tony stated.

"Still, Mossad can recall me," Ziva stated. "I won't be much use to them if I can't walk."

"We'll find a way to make it work Ziva, I promise." He pulled away from the hug, cradling her cheek in his hand. "I'm not going to let you down again."

"I don't want to go back to Israel," Ziva whispered.

"Then you won't." Tony said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. She appeared awestruck at the gesture. For a moment, Tony wasn't sure if she was going to hit him or thank him, but she didn't say anything, just leaned her head on his shoulder and let him hold her in his arms.

* * *

Jeanne watched around the corner of the window. She saw Tony in Ziva's arms and she resisted the urge to barge in and interrupt them. She wanted to scream at Tony. Why was he doing this to her? Ziva was more than a friend wasn't she? What kind of history did they have together? Was she his ex? An ex he still had feelings for? What made him more important to her than her?

Watching him hold her in her arms made Jeanne sick to the stomach. She slipped off to the bathroom and dialed a number. Papa, would fix this. Papa always made everything okay. She waited until the low voice picked up the phone.

"Bon jour," the voice said.

Jeanne immediately started speaking in French, "Papa, I need you're help."

"What's wrong Angel," he stated.

"I think Tony is being unfaithful?"

"With who?"

"A patient at the hospital, Ziva David."

_Cliffhanger!! Reviews will feed the muse._

* * *


	15. Chapter 14

_Okay sorry for no update. I've been trying to find ways to fund my college education so I've been writing essays for that, __meaning my energy has been kind of drained. I also made Ziva video if anyone would like to watch I have a youtube account with the same name. This is the link to the video: /watch?vOChMyMSsBMk  
_

_However, still stick around because I have no intention of abandoning this story. And this is the longest chapter to date.  
_

Chapter 14

La Grenouille called a meeting with Kort shortly after he hung up the phone. He smiled devilishly at the bald man as he entered the cabin of the airplane and invited him to sit down. Kort was a good man, capable of getting any job done. When he had asked Kort to take care of surveillance on his daughter and her new boyfriend, he had collected excellent intelligence. Intelligence that he couldn't have gotten from anyone else. Not even Jeanne.

"Kort I need you to contact your former FBI agents again," La Grenouille stated.

"More survallience on Jeanne and Mr. Dinardo?"

"No, this is for Jeanne. She fears that Mr. Dinardo is being unfaithful."

"With whom?" Kort asked.

"A young Israeli immigrant, in her mid-twenties, her name is Ziva David. It sounds strange saying it now," La Grenouille pondered, mentally restating the name in his head. Ziva David, Ziva David, Ziva David. "Why does her name sound so familiar?"

"She's the Deputy Director of Mossad's daughter," Kort said.

On second glance, La Grenouille could easily see the resemblance between the young woman in the Mossad file and the Director of Mossad. She had his nose, and his eyes. Maybe a hint of her mother's eyes and hair. She was a beautiful girl. Pity she had to get involved in politics. What was it her brother Ari had said? "Women shouldn't get involved in politics. It's a waste of beauty." La Grenouille closed the folder and handed it back to Kort.

"Isn't she the same one I told you to kill a few weeks ago," La Grenouille asked.

"Yes, unfortunately the crash, didn't kill her as I'd planned," Kort clarified. "Seems the little assassin is more resilient then I'd realized."

"Kort," La Grenouille stated. "Follow her. Track her every move."

"Should I finish the job?"

"Not yet," La Grenouille said as he lit his cigar. "Give us some leverage for Mr. DiNozzo."

* * *

It was two days before Ziva started meeting with a physical therapist. After copious exams, x-rays, and CT scans the doctors were convinced that she was doing well enough to begin rehabilitation. At first the doctors had suggested moving her to a long term care facility, but both Tony and Gibbs knew that if they brought that suggestion to Ziva it would be shot down as quickly as it was brought up.

They settled for moving Ziva to a private room for her rehabilitation. It wasn't until she was in a room that Tony could see just how greasy her hair had gotten. He gently fingered a lock of her hair as she slept and made a mental note that he should wash it for her. He started looking around for a plastic bin and some small containers of shampoo, intent on washing her hair when she woke up.

As Tony gathered the supplies he looked over at the light box in the corner of the room. Hanging in the square of light white were the x-rays of Ziva's spine. She asked Ducky to come and look at them yesterday and he remembered Ziva's face as the Scotsman sat down on her bed and said, "I'm sorry, Ziva, but the doctors were right." He could remember how sullen she was when Ducky told her that she would need a wheelchair until the swelling in her spine went down. Ducky told her that it looked promising, and that with rest and physical therapy she would be able to walk again.

Tony knew that Ziva would be resilient and would push herself through therapy if it meant she could walk again. He kind of dreaded when she started therapy, a small part of him even hoped that they gave her some very strong narcotics so that she would mellow out. He smiled at the thought of Ziva pulling out a knife on the nurse, though he was also sure that she was going to get arrested if that happened. She had a fighting spirit, and he knew that it was going to be difficult for her to be vulnerable for several months while she recovered.

She stirred quietly for a moment, drawing him out of his thoughts. She grinned at him and he smiled back at her. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty is awake."

"Who's Sleeping Beauty?" Ziva asked, her voice quiet.

"She's a princess in a fairytale. She was betrothed to a prince and was cursed to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die on her sixteenth birthday. But when the time comes, she pricks her finger but instead of dying she's only sleeping. So they faeries put the rest of the castle to sleep so that they find a way to wake her up. She can only wake up with the kiss of a prince."

"That's where you're wrong," Ziva stated. "I don't need a kiss to wake up?"

"How about someone to wash your hair?" Tony offered, gesturing to the small bottle of shampoo he found stored in the cubby.

"Are you offering?"

"Yea, your hair is greasy. You'll feel better once it's washed."

"You don't have to do that Tony, one of the nurses can help me."

"I want to." Gently he supported her shoulder and helped her lean up as he took the pillow out from under her head and rested her neck on the brim, letting her head hang over head hang in the bowl. He slipped into the bathroom and filled a couple glasses with water.

"Tony, really, you don't need to help me with this."

"I want to Ziva! Just relax. You aren't afraid of trusting me with some water are you?"

"Maybe just a little," Ziva confessed, wondering exactly where he planned on putting that water, besides on her head.

"I promise, I'll behave."

"Okay," Ziva said as watched Tony pick up a glass of water and poured it over her head. Ziva's teeth suddenly started shivering.

"Are you okay?"

"Water's cold. It's alright though."

Ziva waited as Tony worked the shampoo into her hair. For a moment she wondered how many women Tony had done this for. Maybe when he was younger he was a shampoo boy at a hair salon. Maybe that's why he was such a playboy, being around women all the time, but then she remembered, his family was wealthy and he probably didn't need to do that type of work.

"You sure you're okay?" Tony asked, noticed how she was still shivering.

"Yes Tony, I am sure!"

"I should have gotten some warmer water Ziva. I'll try to finish this up as quickly as possible."

"I've been through worse," Ziva said. "In Mossad, I swam through miles of freezing water."

"I am sure you can tolerate it, but you might not want to just now," Tony said as he finished lathering the shampoo and started pouring another cup of water over Ziva's head. "Just thought that maybe you wouldn't want to relive that experience right now."

"I'm not an invalid, Tony?" Ziva stated.

"I never said you were."

"That's what you were thinking."

"Ziva, you're too strong for me to think of you that way." She was silent as he finished washing the shampoo out of her hair. When he was done he found a towel and gently leaned her up while he removed the bottle of water.

"Tony, I can hold myself up you know."

"With a broken wrist? I doubt it."

"I can push through the pain."

"You don't have to cover it up Ziva," Tony said as he wrapped her hair in a towel and replaced the pillow. He gently leaned her back, resting her head on the pillow. "Remember when we were locked in that container and you told me that I didn't have to joke about it. That it was alright to admit I was scared."

"We were locked in a container facing violent and painful death…"

"…but we survived, and you're going to get through this." Ziva took a deep breath and Tony took her hand and cradled it. "…and I am not going to let you down again."

* * *


	16. Chapter 15

_Okay so here's Chapter 15, maybe not as Tiva as the others but definately some Gibbs/Ziva moments. I still have plenty of Tiva planned though, so don't worry._

Chapter 15

Jenny clenched the folder in her hands. She didn't want to say this to Gibbs. She knew what the folder contained was going to aggravate him and when Gibbs was aggravated, you better get out of the way. He was sure that by the time she broke this news to him he would be halfway to the Israeli embassy trying to get Mossad to reverse their decision.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Jethro walked through the door. She knew it would be him. Not only did she count the times he had almost taken the door off the hinges, like he did just now, but he also never knocked. Jenny just looked at him, trying not to show any emotion on her face, but she knew that Jethro could see right through it. That he knew she was about to give him bad news.

"Jethro," Jen started.

"You have bad news."

"How could you tell?" Jen asked, trying to humor him.

"You have that bad news look on your face," Jethro said. "So, what is it this time?"

"It concerns Ziva."

Once Jen said those words, it concerns Ziva, he sat down. He knew he wasn't going to like what she said. Not if it was bad news about one of his agents. "What is it?" he asked. She slid the file folder across the desk. Jethro opened it and inside he saw papers in Hebrew. Jethro looked up at Jen, he had never been taught how to speak or read Hebrew, these papers were no more than gibberish to him. "What are these?"

"Termination papers," Jenny said. "From Mossad."

Gibbs sat there for a moment, taking in what she had said. Termination papers. Mossad. What did that mean for Ziva? "Mossad's terminating her status as an officer?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Gibbs demanded. Why would they terminate an officer that had a good chance at a full recovery?

"They think she'll be a liability to them. She's metsada Jethro, they don't have much use for an assassin that can't walk."

"Doesn't being disabled make for a good cover?"

"Jethro!" Jen scolded. How could he joke about being in a wheelchair when one of his officers was suffering through rehabilitation right now? How could he even think about using this temporary disability to kill?

"Sorry. What does that mean for Ziva? Is she going back to Israel?"

"Mossad says they want her back within a week. Jethro, I don't want her going back. I don't think things are going to go very well for her if she goes back to Israel."

"Could we offer her Special Agent status?"

"She wouldn't pass the proficiency exams in her current state."

"Could we hire her as a consultant?"

"That could work, but for how long?"

"It probably doesn't help that her father is the Deputy Director does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Jen stated.

"I've got an idea," Jethro said.

Jen's eyes grew wide as Jethro stood up and walked out of her office, Ziva's termination papers in hand. Somehow she knew where he was headed and she also knew that it wouldn't end well. At least not for the person on the other end of it.

* * *

Jethro sat in the Israeli embassy, waiting for Officer Michael Bashan to enter his office. In his lap was the file folder with Ziva's termination papers. He thumbed through them, hoping that some part of his brain would click and he would be able to read them word for word. Maybe it was the wrong decision to come to the embassy first without showing Ziva the papers. However, Gibbs knew in his gut it was the right thing to do.

He had visited Ziva yesterday. She was already feeling like a failure and already starting to doubt that Mossad was going to take her back. The last thing she needed was evidence that her worse fears were coming true. She had a long road ahead of her and she was going to need to work at it. If the issue was her injury, NCIS didn't mind. They would give her as much time as she needed. Why would Mossad interfere with a good situation like that?

He was drawn out of his thought by an older man entering the room. "Special Agent Gibbs, what brings you to the Israeli embassy?"

"I'm here on behalf of Officer David."

"Ziva?"

"Any other Mossad liason officers in D.C. with the name David?"

"No, I just wonder why Ziva sent someone else here for her?"

"I think you know why," Gibbs said as he placed the papers on his desk. "What do you know about these?"

Officer Bashan was silent for a moment as he looked over the papers. "What is there to question? Officer David has been injured, she can't perform her duties anymore."

"Maybe not for Mossad, but we still need her."

"The United States is not her home. Israel is, it's where her father is."

"Her father didn't even want to come see her when she was comatose, what makes you think he is going to treat her any better once she's home with him?"

"What are you proposing?"

"Tear up the termination papers," Gibbs suggested.

"I can't do that."

"The doctors say she has a good chance of making it through her recovery. Give her time to recover. Let her regain some of her strength. Besides, we don't think the accident was Ziva's fault."

"Well if someone's after Ziva, that's all the more reason she should be back in Israel," Officer Bashan stated.

"We can protect her. Just give her time. Let her recover. If you don't see any improvement in six months, I won't question the next set of termination papers. But until then she needs people who have been close to her for the last two years. She needs us."

"Deputy Director David, is her family."

"Everyone in my team is part of a family. Ziva is like our little sister, she's like a daughter to me."

"Me too," Officer Bashan stated. "I don't want to see her hurt?"

"Trust me, we'll take good care of her, we just need time."

"Alright," Officer Bashan conceded as he ripped up Ziva's termination papers. "Six months."

* * *


	17. Chapter 16

_Okay back to the Tiva moments._

_Also an interesting note. I want to thank all of you for making this story the most popular fanfic I have ever written! 50 author alerts, 135 reviews, and 18 favorites. Thanks to everyone for making this story such a success._

_And no that does not mean that this story is close to done, so stick around. This is the longest chapter so far with almost 1600 words.  
_

Chapter 16

Tony watched as Ziva worked with the physical therapist. He could see how frustrated she was as the therapist tried to establish a baseline for the rest of her therapy. It hurt him to see the therapist ask her to push her foot against his hand and he could see the pain mounting on her face as she could barely push his hand away. His strong and sultry Mossad Officer seemed so weak and broken. He stopped for a moment, wondering when he first thought of her as his. Then he realized, he always had.

Ever since the first time she walked into the bullpen after Kate died, she was his. Even though she made it clear that she could take care of herself with her three concealed weapons, his white knight nature made him want to protect her. He remembered when they were locked in the Senegalese container, when they'd started shooting at the defensive perimeter. Once she was out of ammo he instinctively pulled her close, trying to protect her from the shower of bullets from the automatic weapons. He could remember the scared look in her eyes as they realized that they wouldn't survive much longer. It was clear that Ziva had already angered them, and Tony didn't want to see what they would do to her if they got their hands on her. He could remember the way she whispered to him, apologizing for not inviting him to dinner last night.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Tony knew she had been scared. She didn't want to admit it but she knew that if they got her hands on her then she wouldn't want anyone to see her weak. A few months later when they found the severed head in the chop shop she revealed to him that she decided she would never be captured alive. The words made Tony's heart skip a beat, he remembered how close it came in the container and he dreaded the thought of seeing Ziva put her last round to her head. Her gun was empty, or at least she'd said it was. What if she'd kept one last round in case of the inevitable? Tony realized that he could have lost her that day, and though he never considered himself religious, he thanked god that she was alive and with him today.

He waited as the therapist finished up. He could see the tears brimming in her eyes, and he spent the next ten minutes wishing that there was something he could do to help. All he could do was offer her encouraging words from the sidelines as he watched her struggle. When the therapist finally decided she'd had enough for the day, Tony rushed over to her and scooped her up in a hug.

"It's okay," he cooed. "You did great."

"I could barely move Tony," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"You'll get better," Tony said as he stroked her hair. "It's just going to take some time." He felt Ziva suck in a breath of anguish and he glanced around looking for her wheelchair. "Do you want to go back to your room?"

"No," Ziva stated.

"We can't stay here," Tony said. "Do you want to go for a walk outside?"

Ziva shook her head. Tony knew that it was in part because she didn't to go back into her wheelchair. They'd given her one of the standard hospital chairs earlier today to take her to therapy. He saw the look in her eyes when she saw the chair. She obviously didn't want to get into the chair. When the nurses put her into the chair it seemed that her mood changed, like instead of optimism she was depressed. Tony tried to encourage her, telling her that she was going to be okay; she just needed to stay positive.

"Come on, lets go for a walk."

"No, Tony, don't put me in that chair," Ziva begged.

"I'll only put you in the chair until we get outside. We'll find a place to sit and talk and I will take you out of the chair again, I promise."

"Okay, if you promise."

Tony smiled and pinned a piece of her hair behind her ear before sliding one of his hands under her legs and lifting her up. He didn't realize how much weight she had lost until that moment, she was so light and fragile in his arms that Tony was almost afraid to hold her too tightly. He made a mental note that they needed to get her to eat more. The past couple of days she had been puckish with the hospital food and Tony was sure that wouldn't help her recovery if she wasn't getting enough food to nourish her body. Carefully he set her down in her wheelchair and lifted the breaks before he started pushing her out of the physical therapy room and down to the hall towards the garden.

"Are you hungry?" Tony asked.

Ziva shook her head, "No. I am not hungry."

"Ziva, you need to eat. Please. It will keep your strength up." Ziva looked away from him. "You've been pecking at your hospital food for the past two days. You need to eat something. A real meal, if you want I'll call McGee and have him bring you a vegetarian burrito for tonight if you want."

"No," Ziva said. "It's fine."

"Can I coax you into going with me to the cafeteria and getting something to eat?"

"I guess, but can we eat outside? I don't want to eat in the cafeteria."

"Of course," Tony said as he started pushing her in the direction of the cafeteria.

* * *

Jeanne was exhausted, three surgeries later she had removed an appendix, repaired internal bleeding on a gunshot victim, and then capped it all off with setting a broken wrist. She informed the nurse that she was taking a ten minute break and headed towards the cafeteria. She knew that Tony was here today because of Ziva's physical therapy session. She wondered where he was, if he was willing to get a bite to eat, but when she took a detour to Ziva's to see if he was there, she found Ziva's bed empty and concluded that the two of them must have gone for a walk.

She headed down the cafeteria, desperately needing some coffee, when she saw Tony in line. He was with Ziva, pushing her along the line in the wheelchair. She watched as he long haired woman looked back at him and smiled as he placed two cups of jello on the try in her lap. She heard Ziva make some remark about how she didn't think jello was kosher. Tony simply replied that it was jello and that everybody ate jello. She just smiled at him as the continued through the line. He watched as they continued to load the tray full of food.

"You're smiling!" Tony exclaimed as Ziva laughed at one of his jokes. "I like it when you smile." Ziva just blushed.

With that Jeanne decided to interrupt. "Tony!" she shouted. Tony looked up from Ziva and smiled at her.

"Hey Jeanne. What are you doing here?" Tony asked, as if it was such an unusual occurrence to see a doctor in the hospital she worked at. When Jeanne's eyes wondered to Ziva she saw the woman studying her awkwardly, as if she was trying to place her.

"I'm on a break. I was going to ask you if you wanted to grab some lunch."

"Oh," Tony began, finding himself caught between his girlfriend and assignment, and his best friend. "I already told Ziva we'd go eat in the garden."

"Tony, why does she look familiar?" Ziva whispered to him.

"Oh," Jeanne said, pretending that she hadn't heard Ziva's question. "That's okay; I can take a rain check."

"You're welcome to join us," Tony offered her.

"No," Jeanne said, her façade weak. She wasn't a good actress by any stretch of the word. She shrugged her shoulders in an immature teen would when she found out she wasn't invited to the popular house at school. "It's okay. I have to get back to work in a few minutes anyway."

"Okay," Tony said as he started pushing Ziva out of the cafeteria. "I'll catch you later."

As they left she heard Ziva say something, "Oh, I remember where I know her from, she's your mystery woman!"

Jeanne stood there for a moment before getting into the cafeteria line and gathering an assortment of food. She knew that her father was going to figure out what was going on between them. They way they were behaving it certainly seemed like more than a close friendship to her. She wondered what her father had been able to turn up, if his private investigator would be able to give her any helpful hints as to what was going on between them.

She hated the thought of having to share her boyfriend with another woman. Even if she was just a friend, by Tony's definition, she wanted to know what was happening between them. How he knew her. So many questions she had for him, but every time she asked, Tony seemed to get more and more combative. As Jeanne paid for her food she resigned herself to realizing that she was just going to have to rely on her father for the answers to her questions.

* * *


	18. Chapter 17

* * *

_Another shout out to all who have reviewed an alerted this story since its been posted as I post yet another longer chapter than the last._

Enjoy!! More Tiva moments to come in **Doll's Eyes.**

Chapter 17

La Grenouille studied the photos that Trent Kort handed to him. The candid images depicted Tony "Dinardo" DiNozzo with a woman in a wheelchair. La Grenouille immediately recognized the woman with him as Ziva David. There was no mistaking her heritage. She looked a lot like her father, right down to her hair. It was the same dark shade as Deputy Director David's, though it was much longer. The curls were more subtle then they were in her file, but La Grenouille contributed it to her American coworkers trying to assimilate her into their culture.

He flipped through the photos, the first was of him hugging her, her face buried in his neck. The second was of him kissing her forehead, Ziva's eyes closed. La Grenouille wondered for a moment if the Israeli was sleeping or if she was just being coy. Mossad taught their officers well. They learned how to survive in several situations and their spy game allowed them to hone in on their acting skills. Maybe Officer David was not interested in Mr. DiNozzo at all. Maybe she was just playing the game. Like Tony was with his daughter.

As La Grenouille studied the photos he found more images that implied a certain relationship between the two. The photos of them in the garden for example, a perfect instant of flirtation. She was smiling in every shot, and laughing, though they never kissed in any of the shots, La Grenouille could tell that Tony would not be faithful to Jeanne for much longer.

Aligning the edges by tapping them against the armrest of his chair, "Your FBI agents are doing very well, Trant."

"What can I say? They do good work?"

"Do you have any voice recordings of their conversations?" La Grenouille asked him, hoping he had learned from the time he had him tracking Tony and Jeanne.

"No," Trant said. "DiNozzo is a man that only needs photos for leverage."

"Right, he's a…'white hat'?"

"Yes, he wants to protect the women in his life. Friends and lovers."

"And which category does Mrs. David fall into?" La Grenouille asked as he studies a picture of them laughing in the hospital garden. "Friend or lover?"

"There's no question about it. DiNozzo considers her a 'good friend,' but it is also clear that he feels something more for her, that he wants something more from her."

"Maybe she's gay?"

Trent let out a laugh of disbelief, "A woman like that, climbing into bed with another female? That would be a waste of good genes."

"I've read this, Ziva's, records," La Grenouille started. "She's been working with Agent DiNozzo for over two years. Why haven't they started a relationship by now."

"American's can be fickle when it comes to long term relationships," Trent stated, his voice stern. He wondered if his arms dealing boss would one day question how he knew so much about American culture, though maybe he already knew, and just thought he was a valueable asset. "Besides, DiNozzo's a player. He wouldn't be a good match for someone like Ziva."

"Or, he could be her perfect match," La Grenouille stated. "She's probably played several men as part of her missions, even if they usually end in a metsada style assassination."

Trent sat back, "What do you want to do now?"

La Grenouille thought for a moment. Killing Ziva was a waste of beauty. Having her deported would be a fight. Letting her live would break Jeanne's heart. Threatening her could result in one of his men getting killed. None of them were particularly good roads for either side. Maybe it was best to leave Ziva's fate up to Trent, or perhaps he should give him an esoteric order. Enough for him to have something to go on, and enough to keep his conscience clean.

Casually, he opened the cigar humidor and extracted one of the expensive Cubans and light it, taking a drag he looked at one of the wide angle photos of Tony and Ziva. "I guess, I should keep my daughter, first in my heart," he studied Ziva's face in one of the pictures. Beautiful girl. Such a beautiful girl. It would be a shame to waste that beauty. However, La Grenouille took the cigar and held it behind the photograph where Ziva's face was. "I guess we'll have to eliminate her."

He watched as the smoke from the cigar lit up the photo and burned through Ziva's face. Her pale skin consumed by the orange fire. When the whole ad sufficiently burned out any trace of Ziva's face La Grenouille set the photo down. Sometime in the future there would be a similar photo of Tony and Jeanne.

* * *

"Are you sure that I can go home after this?" Ziva asked as she waited for the anesthesiologist to administer her anesthetic in the form of a spinal tap.

It had been two weeks since Ziva had started therapy and the doctors had determined that the Ziva's broken legs had healed enough for the pins to be removed. The doctors had decided to give her a spinal tap that would numb her lower body before they opened her up to remove their pins. They'd said that after the pins were out it was likely that Ziva could return home and continue her therapy on an eight patient status. She was improving slightly, which gave Tony some hope. She was building upper body strength and regaining some range of motion in her legs, both good signs of her recovery. In preparation for her homecoming, Tony had gone to her apartment just to make sure it was accessible to her from a wheelchair. Once her therapist had determined that it was, he'd okayed the residence and told Ziva it was okay for her to come home.

That was, once they'd run a few more tests. They wanted to run an MRI on Ziva's spine but the pins in her legs were a concern. So once the bones had knitted together enough the doctor decided it was time for the surgeons to remove to the pins. When Ziva was told about the surgery she was given two options. The first was general anesthesia and the second was a local anesthetic given via a spinal tap. Ziva immediately rejected a general anesthetic, saying that the last thing she needed was a chance of lapsing into another coma when she was so close to being home. The doctors told her that since she would be awake they would let her bring one person in with her. Tony hadn't been thrilled when he asked her but he told her that he would go in, for her.

Now here they were, Ziva lying on her side, on the stretcher, dressed in a hospital gown her in a latex shower cap. Tony was dressed in scrubs and a cap and mask, though he wondered if it would have been easier just to wear a hazmat suit. The back of Ziva's gown was open as the anesthesiologist prepped her for surgery. She didn't even flinch as the anesthesiologist inserted the needle into her spine. Tony wondered if it was possible for the needle to do more damage. He was sure that it could. Almost every medical procedure had its potential drawbacks. However, Tony didn't question it, he figured that the doctor would know what they were doing.

He followed the gurney down the hall as they continued to the operating room. Ziva was silent the entire way. Tony was tempted to make some juvenile joke, just to hear her laugh but decided against it. He just took her good hand and held it in his own as they moved towards the operating room and the operating table. Once they reached the operating room, they transferred her onto the operating table and settled her in before turning to their instruments.

"I'll make sure you get a nice scar out of this," Tony muttered to the quiet Ziva. It earned him a small smile before he turned to Ziva's surgeon. "You hear that?"

"I'll do my best."

"You sure you want to be here, Tony?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, Ziva. I am not going to let you go through this alone."

"Wouldn't you rather be at work? You've been with me for the past two weeks."

"As far as Gibbs is concerned he said to me, 'DiNozzo, you watch her six or you suffer my wrath."

Ziva laughed. "He always has a way of getting what he wants, DiNozzo. It's probably good that you're listening to him."

"DiNozzo?" a familiar voice asked. Tony looked up and found a pair of eyes he recognized, Jeanne. "I thought your name was Dinardo?"

"It is," Tony quickly defended. "The drugs must be making Ziva loopy. She must be thinking back to when I told her it was my childhood nickname?"

"You're childhood nickname was DiNozzo?"

"Yeah. I had a big nose when I was a kid. Ziva likes to torment me, about it."

"No, I don't," Ziva muttered.

"Dr. Benoit," one of the surgeons said, "Could you hand me the scalpel?" The surgeon asked. Jeanne handed him the scalpel.

"You know," Jeanne said. "I am starting to realize exactly how little I know about you Tony. I mean, you say you have no siblings but you keep talking about a sister. Who is this sister? Ziva?"

"No," Tony said.

"What made you think I'd be related to him?" Ziva asked.

"Jeanne now is not the place for us to be discussing this," Tony stated as he heard the sound of Ziva's heart monitor increase in frequency.

"What makes you think that?"

"We're in an operating room with a conscious patient."

"Well maybe she and I should talk then!" Jeanne said.

"Dr. Benoit!" the surgeon began as Ziva's heart monitor suddenly decided to go haywire. "Control yourself. You're stressing out the patient. Being conscious is enough for someone to deal with in an operation, they don't need a lover's spat as well."

"Oh! You really are his mystery woman!" Ziva exclaimed.

"Ms. David, please relax, before I have one of the nurses give you some Ativan to knock you out."

"Sorry, Doctor," Jeanne said.

"Don't be Dr. Benoit. You're excused," the surgeon stated. Jeanne was cross for a moment before she walked out of the operating room. Tony stayed with Ziva, holding her hand. "I'm sorry about that Ms. David, I assure you, our doctors are usually really well behaved."

"Just get these pins out of me," Ziva stated. "I want to go home."

* * *


	19. Chapter 18

* * *

_Okay, sorry this one took so long for me to update. I had a busy weekend. Though you might like this chapter so I might have saved myself._

Chapter 18

Tony took a deep breath as he approached Jeanne. This was not going to be fun. After the outburst in the operating room he had a lot of explaining to do, and it was better she heard from him before it all started sliding out. There would probably be a big fall out from the Director too, since she was losing her chance to catch with La Grenouille. Still Tony wearily approached Jeanne.

"Hey," Tony began. Jeanne was silent. "We need to talk?"

"No really!" Jeanne said sarcastically. Then she took her tone down, "Where's Ziva?"

"Her doctors are doing an MRI on her spine."

"Why aren't you with her?" Jeanne asked, her tone still cold.

"She fell asleep," Tony said innocently. "I told her I'd see her back in the room. Is there somewhere else we can go? Somewhere we can talk in private?"

"Follow me," Jeanne stated as she turned and headed for one of the staff rooms nearby. When Tony walked in Jeanne closed the door and crossed her arms. She stared at him for a moment looking cross. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to clear up a few things."

"Like your supposed sister? You're name? Who Ziva really is?"

"Okay, this might take a while," Tony said. "Sit down," he motioned to Jeanne. She sat down and studied him. Tony joined her. "Listen, I'm sorry, but my name isn't Tony Dinardo. It's Tony DiNozzo. I'm a federal agent with NCIS."

"Who?" Jeanne asked, confused by the acronym she'd just heard.

Tony swore he would never get used to people not knowing what NCIS was. "Naval Criminal Investigative Service! It's a federal agency, we investigate crimes involving sailors."

"You're a fed!" Jeanne exclaimed. Tony nodded. "Why did you lie to me?"

"That is a long story."

"And who is Ziva?"

"She's my partner. She has been for two years."

"Is that all?" Jeanne asked, sensing that something else was going on. She saw the way Tony looked at Ziva. It was more than just a look of friendship. Jeanne would venture to say she would know that look. It was the same look her gave her when they were dating. Were dating? When did she start to refer to their relationship in the past tense? Maybe it was when she decided that she wanted to buy a house with him and settle down. No one buys a house with someone who they were just dating.

"Yes," Tony lied.

"Are you sure?" Jeanne probed.

"No," Tony corrected. "Ziva is much more than that."

"Tony," Jeanne looked down. If he loved Ziva then what was he doing with her? For all she knew Ziva could be his wife and she was the other woman. "I think it's best if we don't see each other anymore."

* * *

When Tony went back to Ziva's room she was asleep. He wondered if she'd been that way throughout her MRI. Tony took a step closer to her and ran his hand through her hair. He smiled at the improvement in Ziva's condition in the last few weeks. She had gone from still and almost dead to a healthy young woman again. Her cheeks had regained some of their original rose color and her placid skin had reverted to its normal olive shade. When he picked up her hand, instead of her fingers hanging limply she would squeeze back gently. Smiling, he traced her cheekbone and watched as her eyelids fluttered open at his touch. He was surprised she didn't try to pull her sig on him like she had when they were undercover, but he attributed it to her being doped up on pain meds. Instead she just smiled at him.

"Hey," Tony whispered, breaking the silence.

"Hey," Ziva said. "Did you see your mystery woman?"

"I did," Tony said. "But I'm more concerned about you right now. Did you get a chance to talk to your doctors after your MRI."

"You first," Ziva stated. "Did you talk to your mystery woman?"

"Yes, and she isn't 'my mystery woman' anymore. We broke up." Tony announced.

"I'm sorry, Tony." Ziva said.

"Don't be. You wouldn't be sorry if you knew what she'd said to us when you were in a coma."

Ziva's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"She wanted us to pull the plug," Tony stated. He was waiting for her to say something but all he got was a perplexed look. Tony wondered if her doctors had ever told her the details of her coma. Taking a deep breathe he started from the beginning. "When you were brought in, you were in really bad shape. Abby had to donate two pints of blood to keep your immune system up and your Glascow score was a four. They said that an outcome for someone that scored so low wasn't too optimistic." Ziva sat there silently. "Abby was hysterical, she was made a Jeanne for wanting to pull the plug. I told her that your religion wouldn't allow it, that you wouldn't be given a proper funeral if you died from euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide. She believed me, and then I told Jeanne that for a doctor that didn't like losing patients, she was being overly combative. From that point you started to improve, so we never bought the idea up again." Ziva hadn't said anything. "Ziva? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe that your girlfriend wanted to kill me."

"We wouldn't have let it happen Ziva. You know that. Gibbs thinks of you like a daughter, if there was any chance we could have done something to save you, we would have. Even if we had to transplant all your organs."

Ziva just laughed at his comment. "Would you have given me your kidney, if I needed one?" Ziva asked with a smile. She remembered back when she first came to America and Tony told her about his registered letter from the sperm bank. One of his theories had been that one of his offspring had a medical condition. Maybe they needed an organ transplant. All she could do was laugh at him and say "You? Who won't share a Krispy Kreme doughnut? You're going to give up a kidney?"

"Yea," Tony said. "If we were a match you'd be more than welcome to my extra kidney."

Ziva smiled. She had to admit that Tony had changed a lot since she first joined NCIS. During their first meeting she had pegged him as a man that chased any skirt that came within range. In the past two years he went from pompous swine to sensitive man. He was becoming a man, able to maintain a relationship for more than a three day weekend. When she was with Lieutenant Roy Sanders, when he was dying, she couldn't help but blush when he started faking the symptoms of radiation poisoning so that she and Roy could steal a walk in the garden before he died. Almost a year ago, she would have never believed that he would have done that for her.

"So," Ziva asked. "Do you have any dinner reservations?"

"Yea,I have some for Saturday, but I'll probably just cancel them."

"Don't do that! My doctor said that I could go home on Saturday. Maybe I can take you to dinner again. My treat."

Tony just looked at her. This woman was unbelievable. "Ziva, you're the one that crashe your car, was in a coma for a week, has been in rehab for a few weeks now, and will be in a wheelchair for a few months. You want to buy me dinner? I should be buying you dinner!" Tony declared. Ziva giggled at his logic. "Gibbs already blames me for being the reason that you're here."

"You can't blame yourself. Besides we can always go German."

"Okay, first of all, I don't blame myself. Second of all, the saying is going Dutch?"

"Right, but isn't _deutsch _German for German?"

"It sounds similar," Tony admitted. "But the Dutch that saying is talking about is a person from Holland."

"How is a person from Holland, German?"

"They aren't, but thank you Ziva. You have given me dinner conversation for Saturday night. American English and nationalities."

"So we have a date?" Ziva concluded.

"Yes, we do."

Tony smiled at her. She had such a beautiful woman. Tony wondered how he didn't see it earlier, but then he remembered that she carried three weapons on her and slept with one under her pillow. In all odds if he had made an unwelcome advance on Ziva, she probably would have killed him. He watched her now as she laughed. She seemed so excited to have something to look forward to. Getting out of the hospital would be big, but Ziva seemed to be glowing at the prospect of a date over dinner. He started to laugh with her, but suddenly he heard Ziva hiss in pain.

"Ziva!" Tony exclaimed.

"It's alright," Ziva stated as she took a series of breaths. "It's passing. My ribs just hurt." She closed her eyes and opened them again. She gestured to the bottle of pills on the bedside table. "Can you hand me those?"

Tony reached over and got the pill bottle. He briefly glance at the label, "Vicodin?"

Ziva nodded. "They said it works pretty well to control the pain." She took the pill bottle an popped off the cap. She removed a capsule from the bottle and popped it into her mouth as Tony poured a glass of water for her. He helped Ziva steady the glass of water in her hands as she took a sip of water. "Thank you," Ziva stated as she settled back into the hospital bed.

"No problem. Is the Vicodin going to make you sleepy?" Ziva nodded in response. Tony could see that her eyelids were beginning to close. "You should sleep."

"I've slept enough these last few days. I want to go back to NCIS. I miss seeing you guys."

"I know you do, but you need to build up your strength for Saturday night, can't have you falling asleep on your food. I promise, once you're out we'll go visit Gibbs, McGee, Abby, and Ducky. Just sleep for now. I promise, Monday, I will take you to work."

"Kay," Ziva breathed as she let her eyes close.

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched the pair, taking pictures as Tony leaned in and placed a gentle kiss o the bridge of Ziva's nose as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *


	20. Chapter 19

* * *

Chapter 19

On Saturday morning Ziva woke up ready to hop out of bed and demand her discharge papers. Tony had to restrain her, not wanting her to hurt herself Tony helped her get dressed in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a her olive jacket for warmth. Tony was glad to see her in something other than the hospital gown or a pair of scrubs. She was starting to look like the Ziva he knew. She was a cross between a sexy assassin and a tomboy.

When the doctors came in and gave her the discharge forms, he asked Tony to come outside for a minute before they let her go home. The instructions for her homecoming were simple, make sure she was comfortable, encourage her, and make sure she doesn't push herself too hard. Tony couldn't help but think that the doctor was dreaming when he said to make sure she didn't push herself too hard. Obviously he didn't know Ziva.

When he came back into the room, Ziva was sitting up in bed with her paperwork already filled out. She handed it to the doctor. "Can I go home now?" she asked with a smile. "Please?"

The doctor flipped through the paperwork, "Well it appears that everything is in order. I'll send a nurse in to make sure that you have everything you need, but you can get ready to leave."

Ziva smiled as the doctor left the room. Tony came closer to the bed and pulled her wheelchair up close so that he could transfer her from the bed to the chair easily. She flinched at the sight of the chair. She didn't like having to depend on it. She hated the way people looked at her when she used it, and she hated that there was no other option until her spine healed. She heard Tony lock the breaks and without a word, Tony's hand was on the small of her back and her arm was around his neck as he gently lifted her from the hospital bed and settled her into the wheelchair.

"Thank you," she whispered to Tony. She tried to hide the tears from her eyes. "I hate this chair."

"It's okay," Tony said. "You'll be rid of it in no time." He could tell that Ziva thought he was just being nice, but it was true. She had made great progress in the few weeks of physical therapy she'd had. Her range of motion was improving and she had more upper body strength to make sure she could get around while she was recovering. "Hey, you still want to go out for dinner tonight?"

"Yes," Ziva stated, "Just not in my jeans and t-shirt."

"Okay," Tony stated. "So, McGee and Abby are going through your fridge, cleaning out anything that isn't edible and replacing whatever went bad. Gibbs and the Director are stopping by later to bring me a bag of clothes."

"You don't have to stay with me," Ziva cut him off. "I can take care of myself."

"Ziva, you just got out of the hospital and you might have a hard time adjusting…"

"Adjusting?"

"Being home and in the wheelchair? You're apartment isn't entirely handicap friendly."

"Then I'll manage!"

An imagine of Ziva climbing on the countertop to get something out of a cabinet, losing her balance, falling and cracking her skull flashed before his eyes. "No Ziva. I don't want to see you in the hospital again." Taking a deep breath he stated, "Besides, doctors orders, someone needs to stay with you."

"Are you sure my doctor ordered that?"

"No," Tony smiled. "I made it up." Ziva slapped him playfully. "Hey! No slapping the person who's gonna be feeding you."

"Oh no, feeding myself is one of the few things I can still do," Ziva said holding her broken wrist. "Even with this broken wrist, and I would watch it if I were you. In my experience, a mass of hardened plaster makes for a very good weapon."

The nurse came in with a smile. "Ms. David, you ready to go home?"

"Yes," Ziva said. "Please, let me out of here."

The nurse took a step behind Ziva and began to push her chair towards the door. "Oh!" Tony exclaimed. "I almost forgot." He fished through his pocket and pulled out Ziva's Star of David necklace. "They must have taken it out of your hand one of the times they were giving you a checkup." Tony knelt down next to Ziva as she held her hair back from her neck so that he could fasten he necklace. Tony let go of the necklace and watched as it dangled close to Ziva's heart. "There you go. Now you look like your old self."

Ziva smiled, "Except for my wheels."

"Alright, are we ready to go?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," Tony said as he picked up the bag that contained what little personal possessions Ziva had when she came into the hospital. "Lets go home."

The nurse escorted them out of the hospital and towards the car. Once they got to Tony's mustang, Tony loaded her into the car and shut the door. He joked with her, telling her not to drive away before he popped the trunk and started folding up her wheelchair, stowing it in the trunk of the car. He climbed into the driver's seat and put his keys into the ignition.

* * *

"We would have been here a lot sooner if you'd let me drive!" Ziva said as they pulled up to her apartment building and into the space where her red mini cooper used to be.

"Ziva, you can barely move your legs and we were driving in the lunch rush!" Tony argued as he got out of the car and ran back towards the trunk of the car and pulled out her wheelchair.

"Gibbs would have let me drive." She said as he returned back to the passenger side door with her wheelchair and started unfolding it.

"In this case I don't think he would have. God! These things are not easy to unfold!"

"There's a latch on either side."

"How do you know that?" Tony asked.

"I watched the nurse unfold it the first day she brought it into my room."

A few latches later the chair unfolded into something that looked reasonably comfortable to sit in. Tony lifted her out of the car and placed her into the chair. Ziva was surprised when the chair lurched backward suddenly. "Tony!"

Tony grabbed the armrests of the chair, "I'm sorry, I forgot to put the brakes on."

"It's okay," Ziva said as Tony pulled her bag out of the car. "Let's just go inside. McGee and Abby should still be here."

"How do you know that?" Tony asked.

"I'm a spy!" Ziva stated as Tony stood behind her and started pushing her wheelchair. She heard him laugh in response. "That and McGee's car is here!"

The took the elevator up to Ziva's apartment, and then Tony pushed Ziva down the hall until they got to Ziva's room. Ziva went through her bag of personal belongings trying to find her key. "No need," Tony said. "I still have the copy you gave me." Tony unlocked her door from the outside and wheeled Ziva into her apartment. "Look who's home!"

"Ziva!" Tony heard Abby squeal as she ran out of the kitchen area to hug Ziva. "Oh! I am so happy you're home."

"Me too Abby," Ziva managed.

"Abby! Abby! She can't breathe!" Tony exclaimed.

Immediately Abby let go and Ziva took a breath. "Sorry. Got to remember you broke your ribs!"

"Did you get all the spoiled food out of Ziva's fridge?" Tony asked Abby.

"Yes," Abby said. "And we made you a casserole for the week. In case you didn't feel like cooking and Gibbs called a little while ago. He wanted us to tell you that he is on his way and will be here at any moment."

"Thank you, Abby," Ziva said. Suddenly the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Tony watched as Ziva navigated the wheelchair towards the door and positioned it so that it was out of the way of the door. She opened the door to see Gibbs and Jenny standing there, holding a small wooden ramp in his hand. "Hello Gibbs! Hello Jenny!"

"Hey there Ziva, how are you doing?"

"Okay," Ziva said. "Happy to be home." She gestured to the ramp in his hands. "What's that for?"

"The step to get into your kitchen," Gibbs answered. "Let me put it in and you can try it out."

"Thank you Gibbs," Ziva stated as he left to go towards the kitchen, allowing Jenny to come forward. "Jen!"

"Tell me they have you on good drugs!" Jenny pleaded.

"Plenty," Tony stated for her. "She's on Vicodin."

"Oh, very good drugs," Jenny said as Gibbs came back towards the door.

"Ziva, come try the ramp. Make sure it's not too steep."

Ziva wheeled away to go check the ramp while the Tony stood next to the director. "Tony," she began. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I couldn't continue the relationship," Tony said. "I'm sorry. After Ziva got hurt…"

"You don't have to explain," the director said. "Sometimes friends are more important."

"Ziva's more than a friend," Tony said. "I'm in love with her."

"Then keep her close." Jenny stated as she watched Ziva roll up and down the ramp. "Don't let her get away."

* * *

_Sorry this update was kind of slow. I am currently working on a joint fic with Cable Addict as well. Don't worry though, I've got the next couple chapters planned out very well. Thanks to everyone whose read the story so far. _

* * *


End file.
